Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic Comments.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged antisemitic abuse attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have seen where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.
"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."
An Unequivocal Demand
The letter poses direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"
The Survivors
The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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.
Mounting Testimony
This public letter follows the characterisation of related testimony by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.
After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. 28 people connected to the school now state they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
- Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".
A Concluding Demand
The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and apologise."
"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
