Shoah Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.

A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for reported antisemitic comments attributed to him toward Jewish students during his time at school.

The political party leader has said he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of hateful words – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a open letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not ever."

A Pointed Inquiry

The document poses blunt questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Signatories

The group of 11 survivors features individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent 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.

Increasing Allegations

This action is a response to the dismissal of related allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, additional former pupils have come forward. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now assert they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes adding a hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with accounts of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were without intent.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."

"Individuals who hope to lead our country should not ever divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."