Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Antisemitic Comments.
A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".
"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The letter puts forth blunt questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to antisemitic abuse?"
Those Who Signed
The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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.
Growing Accounts
This action comes after the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official.
After the story broke, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.
One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", sometimes making a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers.
Additional Claims
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with stories of direct abuse.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
A Concluding Demand
The final appeal asks a concluding 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 moment to admit your error and make amends."
"Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
