Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Comments.

A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and express remorse for reported anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.

The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Shoah survivors, we grasp the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a missive.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter asks straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"

The Survivors

The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic 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 deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.

The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This intervention comes after the rejection of similar testimony by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they saw bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times including a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Additional alumni from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with accounts of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to admit your error and make amends."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should never create division by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."