🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements. A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for reported antisemitic taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth. The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not in a playground. Not ever." A Direct Question The document asks straightforward questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This public letter comes after the characterisation of similar testimony by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now assert they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers. A Broader Pattern More individuals from ethnic minorities have also shared experiences with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were without intent. Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to admit your error and make amends." "Those who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for reported antisemitic taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth. The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive. "Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not in a playground. Not ever." A Direct Question The document asks straightforward questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder 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 in hiding. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This public letter comes after the characterisation of similar testimony by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now assert they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers. A Broader Pattern More individuals from ethnic minorities have also shared experiences with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were without intent. Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to admit your error and make amends." "Those who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."