Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Statements.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for alleged antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"As Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."
An Unequivocal Demand
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 expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"
Those Who Signed
The group of eleven survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.
Additional names on the letter 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 characterisation of related allegations by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.
Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.
Further Allegations
Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have also spoken publicly with allegations of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
A Concluding Demand
The final appeal puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to admit your error and say sorry."
"People who hope to lead our country should not ever sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."