Holocaust Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Antisemitic Comments.

A coalition of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his school days.

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

"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive.

"We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not ever."

An Unequivocal Demand

The letter asks blunt questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

The Signatories

The group of eleven survivors contains individuals with devastating personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to 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 rejection of corroborating testimony by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now state they observed prejudiced actions by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"People who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."