Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported antisemitic taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Shoah survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a open letter.
"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."
A Direct Question
The document asks blunt 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 fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"
The Survivors
The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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.
Growing Accounts
This intervention is a response to the dismissal of related testimony by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now claim they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.
Additional Claims
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with stories of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
- Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
The Ultimate Question
The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you 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 apologise."
"Those who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
