Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.
"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document poses straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported 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 action is a response to the characterisation of similar allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him.
One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of gas chambers.
Further Allegations
Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with stories of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The final appeal poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are lying? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."
"Those who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
