Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Statements.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.

The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we grasp the grave risk of hateful words – because we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The correspondence asks direct questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to bigoted harassment?"

Those Who Signed

The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to 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.

Mounting Testimony

This intervention is a response to the rejection of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now state they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas.

Additional Claims

More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."