Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Remarks.
A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for alleged antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his school days.
The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.
"We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."
A Direct Question
The document puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to bigoted harassment?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing 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.
Increasing Allegations
This public letter comes after the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.
Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with stories of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
- 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 bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to take responsibility and apologise."
"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
