🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements. A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Shoah survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Signatories The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with devastating personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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. Growing Accounts This action is a response to the characterisation of similar allegations by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official. Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they saw prejudiced actions by him. One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations More individuals from ethnic minorities have also come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "racial slur" and has rejected the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Survivors' Final Appeal The missive from survivors poses a final challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and apologise." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Shoah survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Signatories The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with devastating personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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. Growing Accounts This action is a response to the characterisation of similar allegations by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official. Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they saw prejudiced actions by him. One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations More individuals from ethnic minorities have also come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "racial slur" and has rejected the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Survivors' Final Appeal The missive from survivors poses a final challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and apologise." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."