Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Shoah survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged antisemitic taunts he is said to have made toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The political party leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"Being Shoah survivors, we grasp the grave risk of bigoted language – for we have experienced firsthand where such words can lead," stated the survivors in a open letter.

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

A Direct Question

The correspondence puts forth direct questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your fellow pupils to bigoted harassment?"

The Survivors

The group of eleven survivors includes individuals with harrowing personal stories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was imprisoned in 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 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.

Increasing Allegations

This intervention is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than several dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.

After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Nearly thirty ex-students and educators now state they observed bigoted conduct by him.

One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who said that a young Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

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

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots described him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal poses a final challenge to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who seek to govern our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never become acceptable. This moment is about ethical duty. The choice is your own, Mr Farage."