Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks.

A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.

The political party leader has said he never racially abused anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a missive.

"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The group of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.

The remaining survivors include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Mounting Testimony

This action comes after the characterisation of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a senior party figure.

Following the publication, more contemporaries have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would come near him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", sometimes including a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of poison gas.

A Broader Pattern

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also spoken publicly with allegations of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent described him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Individuals who aspire to lead our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."