Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Comments.

A coalition of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged antisemitic abuse attributed to him toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Pointed Inquiry

The correspondence poses direct questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to antisemitic abuse?"

The Signatories

The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Growing Accounts

This intervention follows the dismissal of related allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

Following the publication, additional former pupils have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now state they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with stories of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."