Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.

A group of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a missive.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

An Unequivocal Demand

The correspondence poses direct questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent 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.

Increasing Allegations

This action follows the characterisation of similar testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

Following the publication, additional former pupils have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times including a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.

Further Allegations

More individuals from ethnic minorities have likewise spoken publicly with accounts of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are lying? If you did say them, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and make amends."

"People who hope to lead our country should never divide people by race or religion. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."