Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.
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 previously stated he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of hateful words – because we have seen where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.
"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not ever."
An Unequivocal Demand
The letter puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to antisemitic abuse?"
The Survivors
The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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 action is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of poison gas.
Further Allegations
Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have likewise come forward with accounts of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were without intent.
- Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying".
A Concluding Demand
The missive from survivors poses a final question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to admit your error and make amends."
"Those who hope to lead our country should not ever sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
