Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.

The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have seen where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The document asks direct questions to the political figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to bigoted harassment?"

The Survivors

The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust.

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

Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Growing Accounts

This action is a response to the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, additional former pupils have shared their stories. 28 ex-students and educators now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.

One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a teenage Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a hiss to simulate the sound of poison gas.

Additional Claims

More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has rejected the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The survivors' letter asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."