Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Comments.
A collective of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged antisemitic taunts attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.
The political party leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Shoah survivors, we grasp the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a missive.
"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."
An Unequivocal Demand
The document asks straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Growing Accounts
This intervention is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Since the initial report, additional former pupils have come forward. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now claim they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of poison gas.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from ethnic minorities have also shared experiences with allegations of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends."
"Individuals who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
