Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a open letter.
"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document poses direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
The Survivors
The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping 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.
The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Growing Accounts
This intervention follows the rejection of similar accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of poison gas.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with stories of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Ultimate Question
The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to take responsibility and say sorry."
"People who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
