Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The political party leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have experienced firsthand where such words inevitably end," stated the survivors in a missive.

"It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not anywhere."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter poses blunt questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

Those Who Signed

The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.

Other signatories 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 rejection of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.

After the story broke, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", sometimes including a hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The missive from survivors asks a concluding question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are lying? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"People who aspire to lead our country should not ever sow discord by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."