Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.
A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged antisemitic abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter.
"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."
An Unequivocal Demand
The correspondence asks straightforward questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
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 breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.
The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This action follows the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now state they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.
One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.
Additional Claims
Additional alumni from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally shared experiences with stories of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to admit your error and say sorry."
"Individuals who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
