Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Statements.

A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a open letter.

"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not among children. Not ever."

A Pointed Inquiry

The document asks direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Signatories

The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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 public letter comes after the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, more contemporaries have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish 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 "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."