🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements. A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth. The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Pointed Inquiry The letter poses straightforward questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" Those Who Signed The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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 intervention is a response to the dismissal of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. 28 former pupils and teachers now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him. One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern More individuals from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion 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 intimidation". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "People who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth. The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Pointed Inquiry The letter poses straightforward questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" Those Who Signed The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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 intervention is a response to the dismissal of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. 28 former pupils and teachers now assert they observed prejudiced actions by him. One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern More individuals from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion 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 intimidation". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "People who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."