Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for reported anti-Jewish comments attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The document poses direct questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"
The Survivors
The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with devastating personal histories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This action comes after the characterisation of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 people connected to the school now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from diverse backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The survivors' letter asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends."
"People who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."