Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a letter.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not ever."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document poses 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 anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
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 action follows the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.
Following the publication, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now state they observed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.
Additional Claims
Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally come forward with stories of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were without intent.
- Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Ultimate Question
The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to admit your error and say sorry."
"People who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
