🔗 Share this article Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Statements. A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth. The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – for we have seen where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not in a playground. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The document poses blunt questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to antisemitic abuse?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out 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 liberated. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This action comes after the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now state they saw bigoted conduct by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent. Another student of Asian heritage 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: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and apologise." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."
A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage admit the facts and issue an apology for alleged anti-Jewish comments he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth. The political party leader has said he never targeted anyone with deliberate cruelty, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk". "As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of bigoted language – for we have seen where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a open letter. "It is crucial to understand: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not in a playground. Not anywhere." A Direct Question The document poses blunt questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you subject your peers to antisemitic abuse?" The Survivors The collective of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Nazi genocide. Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family. Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out 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 liberated. Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi. Mounting Testimony This action comes after the dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen alumni and teachers as "complete fiction" by a senior party figure. Following the publication, additional former pupils have spoken out. 28 former pupils and teachers now state they saw bigoted conduct by him. One well-known testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who said that a young Farage would come near him and say the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers. Further Allegations Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have likewise shared experiences with allegations of personal harassment. Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent. Another student of Asian heritage 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: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If the words were spoken, now is the opportunity to take responsibility and apologise." "Individuals who hope to lead our country should under no circumstances create division by ethnicity or faith. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."