Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the grave risk of bigoted language – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive.
"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The letter poses blunt questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to bigoted harassment?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping 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 liberated.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This action is a response to the dismissal of related allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
After the story broke, additional former pupils have spoken out. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now state they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter poses a final question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to take responsibility and apologise."
"People who hope to lead our country should not ever divide people by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
