Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.
A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days.
The political party leader has said he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.
"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The letter asks direct questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences 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 escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- 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.
Growing Accounts
This public letter comes after the dismissal of similar testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.
Following the publication, additional former pupils have come forward. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now state they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times adding a hiss to simulate the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another student of Asian heritage described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".
A Concluding Demand
The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to take responsibility and apologise."
"People who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
