Holocaust Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.

A collective of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage tell the truth and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never racially abused anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Shoah survivors, we understand the profound danger of bigoted language – because we have witnessed where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a letter.

"It is crucial to understand: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter puts forth direct questions to the public figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with devastating personal histories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before escaping in 1942 and spending the rest of the war in hiding.
• 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.

Mounting Testimony

This public letter follows the characterisation of similar accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.

Following the publication, further individuals from that era have come forward. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a hiss to imitate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The missive from survivors asks a concluding dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who seek to govern our country should under no circumstances create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is yours, Mr Farage."