🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Comments. A group of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish taunts attributed to him toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive. "Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The document puts forth blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding. 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. Increasing Allegations This public letter follows the dismissal of similar accounts by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to take responsibility and say sorry." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A group of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish taunts attributed to him toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive. "Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The document puts forth blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding. 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. Increasing Allegations This public letter follows the dismissal of similar accounts by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to take responsibility and say sorry." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."