Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Remarks.
A collective of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.
The political party leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not among children. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document asks direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"
The Signatories
The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This intervention comes after the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have come forward. 28 people connected to the school now state they observed prejudiced actions by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes adding a hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.
Additional Claims
Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also spoken publicly with accounts of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and apologise."
"People who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
