🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Comments. A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth. The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a open letter. "We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere." An Unequivocal Demand The correspondence puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This action follows the rejection of related allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", at times including a long hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Additional Claims Additional alumni from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were devoid of malice. Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The final appeal asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."
A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his youth. The Reform UK leader has said he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the deadly peril of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," declared the survivors in a open letter. "We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere." An Unequivocal Demand The correspondence puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?" The Survivors The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed. Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This action follows the rejection of related allegations by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", at times including a long hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers. Additional Claims Additional alumni from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were devoid of malice. Another student of Asian heritage characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The final appeal asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that dozens of individuals are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."