Shoah Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Comments.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his school days.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The correspondence puts forth blunt questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.
The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This action follows the characterisation of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.
Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas.
Additional Claims
More individuals from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors poses a final question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to admit your error and make amends."
"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never 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."
