Shoah Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Comments.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish taunts attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not anywhere."

A Pointed Inquiry

The correspondence asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with devastating 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 living through the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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 public letter follows the dismissal of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The missive from survivors poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."