🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Antisemitic Remarks. A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has claimed he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a missive. "We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The document asks blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with devastating 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This public letter follows the dismissal of related allegations by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Additional Claims More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "People who seek to govern our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his time at school. The Reform UK leader has claimed he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a missive. "We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances." A Pointed Inquiry The document asks blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with devastating 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This public letter follows the dismissal of related allegations by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Additional Claims More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "People who seek to govern our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."