🔗 Share this article Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Comments. A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a missive. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The document poses direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding. 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. Mounting Testimony This public letter is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now state they witnessed bigoted conduct by him. One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. 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 intimidation". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends." "Those who seek to govern our country should not ever create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school. The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a missive. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The document poses direct questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding. 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. Mounting Testimony This public letter is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now state they witnessed bigoted conduct by him. One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt. 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 intimidation". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends." "Those who seek to govern our country should not ever create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."