Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Comments.

A collective of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not among children. Not ever."

A Direct Question

The correspondence poses blunt questions to the political figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to antisemitic abuse?"

Those Who Signed

The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 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 concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

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 characterisation of similar testimony by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, additional former pupils have come forward. 28 former pupils and teachers now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."