Shoah Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic Comments.

A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.

The political party leader has said he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The document poses direct questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your peers to antisemitic abuse?"

The Signatories

The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

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

Increasing Allegations

This public letter comes after the rejection of related testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Nearly thirty people connected to the school now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion adding a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with stories of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".

A Concluding Demand

The missive from survivors poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends."

"Individuals who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."