Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive.
"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The letter 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 peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of eleven survivors features 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 imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
The remaining survivors 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 similar accounts by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.
Following the publication, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."
"Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."
