🔗 Share this article Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks. A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed 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". "Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories 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 breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Mounting Testimony This action is a response to the rejection of related allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas. Further Allegations Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were without intent. Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter poses a final challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed 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". "Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Pointed Inquiry The correspondence puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories 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 breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Mounting Testimony This action is a response to the rejection of related allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas. Further Allegations Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were without intent. Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter poses a final challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."