Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".
"As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of hateful words – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not ever."
An Unequivocal Demand
The correspondence asks blunt questions to the political figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your fellow pupils to antisemitic abuse?"
The Survivors
The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This public letter is a response to the rejection of similar accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.
After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now claim they observed bigoted conduct by him.
One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
A Concluding Demand
The survivors' letter poses a final question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to admit your error and make amends."
"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
