Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never racially abused anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "playground banter".

"As Holocaust survivors, we grasp the grave risk of hateful words – because we have experienced firsthand where such words ultimately lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.

"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not in a playground. Not under any circumstances."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter asks straightforward questions to the public figure: "Did you say ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you target your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

The Survivors

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

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau and later moved to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

Other signatories 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 dismissal of similar accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a high-ranking official.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have spoken out. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes making a hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.

A Broader Pattern

Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally shared experiences with stories of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has dismissed the claim that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial intimidation".

A Concluding Demand

The survivors' letter poses a final dilemma to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that scores of witnesses are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the moment to admit your error and make amends."

"People who aspire to lead our country should under no circumstances divide people by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must never become acceptable. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."