Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.

A coalition of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for alleged antisemitic abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his school days.

The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The correspondence puts forth blunt questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your peers to antisemitic abuse?"

The Survivors

The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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.

Mounting Testimony

This public letter comes after the characterisation of similar allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him.

One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

More individuals from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying".

The Ultimate Question

The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are lying? If you did say them, now is the time to take responsibility and say sorry."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."