Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.

A collective of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported antisemitic abuse attributed to him toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of hateful words – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a missive.

"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not anywhere."

An Unequivocal Demand

The document poses blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to antisemitic abuse?"

The Survivors

The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Holocaust.

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

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

Increasing Allegations

This action is a response to the rejection of related allegations by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.

Additional Claims

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and apologise."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."