Shoah Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of words of hatred – for we have seen where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document asks direct questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"
The Survivors
The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through 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.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This intervention follows the dismissal of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now assert they observed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times including a hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.
Further Allegations
More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."
"Individuals who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
