Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for alleged antisemitic comments attributed to him toward Jewish pupils during his school days.
The political party leader has claimed he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we understand the profound danger of hateful words – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."
A Pointed Inquiry
The letter asks direct questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to bigoted harassment?"
Those Who Signed
The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through 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 freed.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Mounting Testimony
This action comes after the characterisation of similar accounts by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.
Further Allegations
More individuals from ethnic minorities have also come forward with accounts of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The missive from survivors poses a final question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to admit your error and make amends."
"Those who seek to govern our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
