Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.

A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for reported antisemitic taunts attributed to him toward Jewish students during his youth.

The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".

"As Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.

"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter poses blunt questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred 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.

Growing Accounts

This public letter follows the rejection of similar accounts by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official.

Following the publication, further individuals from that era have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now state they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."

"Individuals who hope to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."