Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.
The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of hateful words – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.
"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."
An Unequivocal Demand
The letter poses blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"
Those Who Signed
The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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 intervention follows the dismissal of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure.
Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now state they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.
Further Allegations
Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with stories of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
- Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to admit your error and make amends."
"Those who hope to lead our country should never create division by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."
