Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Antisemitic Remarks.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.
The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a missive.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Direct Question
The correspondence poses straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This action comes after the characterisation of related testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now state they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.
One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes making a hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
Additional alumni from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with accounts of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "racial slur" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent.
- Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Ultimate Question
The final appeal poses a final question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."
"Those who seek to govern our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
