Holocaust Victims Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his youth.

The political party leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "playground banter".

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

"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not ever."

A Pointed Inquiry

The correspondence poses straightforward questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"

Those Who Signed

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal histories from the Nazi genocide.

• 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 living through the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to 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 is a response to the rejection of corroborating accounts by more than several dozen former pupils and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they observed prejudiced actions by him.

One well-known allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would approach him and say the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "send them to the gas chambers", at times making a prolonged hissing sound to imitate the sound of gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have additionally come forward with stories of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The missive from survivors puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."