Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.
A coalition of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his youth.
The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".
"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of words of hatred – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a missive.
"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."
A Direct Question
The letter puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"
The Signatories
The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with devastating personal experiences from the Holocaust.
- Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
- Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
- Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to 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.
Increasing Allegations
This intervention comes after the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.
Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now assert they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.
One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of gas chambers.
A Broader Pattern
More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with stories of personal harassment.
- Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent.
- Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying".
The Ultimate Question
The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to admit your error and apologise."
"Those who aspire to lead our country should not ever divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."
