Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Comments.

A collective of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days.

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

"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a letter.

"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

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 public letter follows the characterisation of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, further individuals from that era have come forward. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now state they observed prejudiced actions by him.

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

A Broader Pattern

Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The survivors' letter asks a concluding question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."