Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A collective of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the grave risk of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a letter.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The letter puts forth direct questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended 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 sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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.
Increasing Allegations
This public letter is a response to the rejection of similar allegations by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.
One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times including a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also shared experiences with allegations of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were without intent.
- Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the time to admit your error and say sorry."
"Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
