Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.

"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not ever."

An Unequivocal Demand

The letter poses direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to antisemitic abuse?"

The Signatories

The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 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 sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved 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 action comes after the characterisation of related allegations by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now state they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes including a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"People who aspire to lead our country should not ever sow discord by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."