🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Remarks. A coalition of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Growing Accounts This public letter comes after the characterisation of similar allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him. One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times making a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of poison gas. Additional Claims More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were without intent. Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying". A Concluding Demand The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to take responsibility and apologise." "Those who aspire to lead our country should not ever divide people by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
A coalition of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Growing Accounts This public letter comes after the characterisation of similar allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him. One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times making a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of poison gas. Additional Claims More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were without intent. Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying". A Concluding Demand The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to take responsibility and apologise." "Those who aspire to lead our country should not ever divide people by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."