Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged antisemitic taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days.
The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".
"As Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a missive.
"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not ever."
An Unequivocal Demand
The document poses straightforward questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported 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.
Growing Accounts
This public letter comes after the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.
After the story broke, additional former pupils have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now state they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One prominent testimony 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 correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.
Additional Claims
Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If you did say them, now is the time to admit your error and say sorry."
"Those who seek to govern our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
