🔗 Share this article Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks. A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for alleged antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school. The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances." An Unequivocal Demand The document puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing 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 liberated. 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 related accounts by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times including a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed 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 was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The survivors' letter poses a final question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the time to take responsibility and say sorry." "People who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances divide people by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. 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 apologise for alleged antisemitic abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school. The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Holocaust survivors, we understand the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words inevitably end," declared the survivors in a letter. "Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances." An Unequivocal Demand The document puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" Those Who Signed The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing 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 liberated. 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 related accounts by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a high-ranking official. After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they saw racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", at times including a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have likewise spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has dismissed 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 was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment". A Concluding Demand The survivors' letter poses a final question to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the time to take responsibility and say sorry." "People who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances divide people by background or belief. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."