🔗 Share this article Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Comments. A group of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish abuse attributed to him toward Jewish students during his school days. The political party leader has said he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not among children. Not ever." An Unequivocal Demand The document asks direct questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved 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 concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This public letter is a response to the rejection of related allegations by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have come forward. 28 people connected to the school now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to take responsibility and make amends." "People who hope to lead our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
A group of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish abuse attributed to him toward Jewish students during his school days. The political party leader has said he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not among children. Not ever." An Unequivocal Demand The document asks direct questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved 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 concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This public letter is a response to the rejection of related allegations by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have come forward. 28 people connected to the school now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to take responsibility and make amends." "People who hope to lead our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."