Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Statements.
A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has said he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.
"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The document asks straightforward questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.
The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This public letter comes after the dismissal of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.
Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now state they saw bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.
Additional Claims
Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have also come forward with allegations of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and apologise."
"People who hope to lead our country should never create division by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
