Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Shoah survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for alleged antisemitic comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "playground banter".

"As Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

An Unequivocal Demand

The letter asks straightforward questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.

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

Increasing Allegations

This intervention is a response to the rejection of related testimony by more than several dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.

Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a teenage Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion including a hiss to simulate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Additional alumni from ethnic minorities have likewise come forward with allegations of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was referred to as a "Paki" and has rejected the notion that such actions were without intent.
• Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"People who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."