🔗 Share this article Shoah Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic Remarks. A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "Being Shoah survivors, we grasp the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," 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 under any circumstances." An Unequivocal Demand The document puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued. Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This action follows the dismissal of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. 28 people connected to the school now state they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and say sorry." "Those who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing". "Being Shoah survivors, we grasp the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," 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 under any circumstances." An Unequivocal Demand The document puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you target your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The collective of 11 survivors includes individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued. Additional names on the letter include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Increasing Allegations This action follows the dismissal of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure. After the story broke, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. 28 people connected to the school now state they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas. A Broader Pattern More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally shared experiences with accounts of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar stated he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The survivors' letter puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to admit your error and say sorry." "Those who hope to lead our country should not ever create division by race or religion. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."