Shoah Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic Statements.

A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of hateful words – for we have witnessed where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The document poses straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your fellow pupils to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The collective of eleven survivors features individuals with devastating personal histories 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 escaping in 1942 and living through the rest of the war concealed.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

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

Growing Accounts

This public letter is a response to the dismissal of related testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One notable testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler was right" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes making a long hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

More individuals from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with accounts of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea 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".

The Survivors' Final Appeal

The missive from survivors poses a final challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to acknowledge you were wrong and make amends."

"People who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."