🔗 Share this article Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Remarks. A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days. The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Direct Question The letter asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to bigoted harassment?" The Signatories The collective of eleven survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was held in 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. 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 rejection of similar accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now assert they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to admit your error and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days. The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "playground banter". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Direct Question The letter asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to bigoted harassment?" The Signatories The collective of eleven survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was held in 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. 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 rejection of similar accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now assert they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a long hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to admit your error and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."