Holocaust Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for reported antisemitic abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – for we have seen where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter asks blunt questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

The Signatories

The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This public letter follows the rejection of related testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, more contemporaries have spoken out. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him.

One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes adding a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were without intent.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"Those who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."