Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic Comments.

A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.

"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."

An Unequivocal Demand

The correspondence asks direct questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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.

Mounting Testimony

This action follows the characterisation of similar testimony by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.

Following the publication, additional former pupils have spoken out. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times including a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The missive from survivors asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are lying? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should never create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."