Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements.
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic taunts attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.
The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the profound danger of bigoted language – for we have seen where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Direct Question
The letter puts forth blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
The Signatories
The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This public letter is a response to the characterisation of similar accounts by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.
After the story broke, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now state they observed prejudiced actions by him.
One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas.
A Broader Pattern
Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also come forward with stories of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another student of Asian heritage described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."
"Those who aspire to lead our country should not ever sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."
