Holocaust Survivors Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish taunts he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.

The political party leader has previously stated he never insulted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we comprehend the profound danger of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a open letter.

"We must be unambiguous: expressing admiration for Hitler, mimicking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not among children. Not ever."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter asks blunt questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Signatories

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

• Hedi Argent, who lost 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 deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later incarcerated at Bergen-Belsen, where she was rescued.

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

Mounting Testimony

This intervention is a response to the rejection of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a high-ranking official.

Since the initial report, additional former pupils have come forward. 28 ex-students and educators now claim they witnessed prejudiced actions by him.

One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", on occasion making a hiss to mimic the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

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

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the claim that such actions were without intent.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "open racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was correct" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal puts forth an ultimate dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends."

"Individuals who hope to lead our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The choice is yours, Mr Farage."