Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Statements.

A coalition of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for reported antisemitic taunts attributed to him toward Jewish students during his time at school.

The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "playground banter".

"Being Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter.

"We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The letter asks straightforward questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The group of 11 survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This public letter is a response to the characterisation of corroborating allegations by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now assert they saw bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times adding a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with accounts of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another student of Asian heritage described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and say sorry."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."