Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his school days.
The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.
"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with devastating personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Growing Accounts
This public letter is a response to the rejection of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.
Additional Claims
Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise come forward with allegations of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."
"Those who aspire to lead our country should never divide people by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
