🔗 Share this article Shoah Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Remarks. A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his school days. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere." A Pointed Inquiry The letter poses blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 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 concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Increasing Allegations This action comes after the rejection of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."
A collective of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish students during his school days. The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, proposing it may have been mere "playground banter". "As Shoah survivors, we understand the grave risk of bigoted language – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a letter. "We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere." A Pointed Inquiry The letter poses blunt questions to the party leader: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?" The Signatories The collective of eleven survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 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 concealed. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at 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. Increasing Allegations This action comes after the rejection of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader. Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him. One prominent allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", on occasion adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers. Additional Claims Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have also spoken publicly with stories of direct abuse. Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were devoid of malice. Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial bullying". The Ultimate Question The final appeal poses a final dilemma to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise." "Individuals who aspire to lead our country should not ever create division by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."