Shoah Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Remarks.

A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish abuse attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Holocaust survivors, we understand the deadly peril of hateful words – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: lauding Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The document puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to bigoted harassment?"

The Signatories

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal experiences from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

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

Mounting Testimony

This public letter comes after the rejection of similar testimony by more than two dozen or more former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

Following the publication, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now assert they observed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times including a prolonged hissing sound to simulate the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Other former pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally come forward with accounts of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were without intent.
• 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 Survivors' Final Appeal

The final appeal asks a concluding challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? Should the allegations be true, now is the moment to take responsibility and say sorry."

"People who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances sow discord by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about personal accountability. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."