🔗 Share this article Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Antisemitic Comments. A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth. The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not anywhere." An Unequivocal Demand 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 classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Survivors The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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. Increasing Allegations This action follows the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader. Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now claim they observed bigoted conduct by him. One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were devoid of malice. Another student of Asian heritage described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "Those who hope to lead our country should not ever sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."
A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth. The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not anywhere." An Unequivocal Demand 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 classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Survivors The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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. Increasing Allegations This action follows the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader. Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now claim they observed bigoted conduct by him. One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have also come forward with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were devoid of malice. Another student of Asian heritage described him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "Those who hope to lead our country should not ever sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."