🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements. A collective of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for reported anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of hateful words – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The letter asks direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to antisemitic abuse?" The Signatories The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at 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 intervention follows the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". 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 fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
A collective of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for reported anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of hateful words – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The letter asks direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to antisemitic abuse?" The Signatories The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at 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 intervention follows the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". 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 fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."