Shoah Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.
A collective of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his youth.
The Reform UK leader has said he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing".
"Being Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter.
"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not among children. Not anywhere."
An Unequivocal Demand
The correspondence puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.
- Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.
Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.
Increasing Allegations
This action is a response to the rejection of similar testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.
After the story broke, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion making a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.
Further Allegations
More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with allegations of targeted insults.
- Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were devoid of malice.
- Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are lying? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and say sorry."
"People who aspire to lead our country should never create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."
