🔗 Share this article Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements. A coalition of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for reported anti-Jewish taunts attributed to him toward Jewish pupils during his school days. The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Direct Question The document poses direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Mounting Testimony This public letter comes after the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him. One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry." "People who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
A coalition of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for reported anti-Jewish taunts attributed to him toward Jewish pupils during his school days. The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "Being Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever." A Direct Question The document poses direct questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal histories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Mounting Testimony This public letter comes after the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. Following the publication, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him. One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with accounts of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation". The Survivors' Final Appeal The final appeal poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry." "People who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."