Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for alleged antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have seen where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a letter.

"We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."

A Pointed Inquiry

The correspondence asks direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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 intervention is a response to the dismissal of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", at times adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were without intent.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal poses a final question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."