Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.
The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"As Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a letter.
"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere."
A Pointed Inquiry
The document poses straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Survivors
The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
- Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.
Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Growing Accounts
This action is a response to the characterisation of related accounts by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.
Since the initial report, additional former pupils have come forward. 28 people connected to the school now claim they saw prejudiced actions by him.
One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a prolonged hissing sound to mimic the sound of gas chambers.
Additional Claims
More individuals from diverse backgrounds have additionally shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
- Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Survivors' Final Appeal
The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to admit your error and say sorry."
"People who seek to govern our country should not ever sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
