Holocaust Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has called for that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for reported anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish schoolmates during his school days.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".

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

"Let us be clear: praising Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not on a schoolyard. Not under any circumstances."

A Direct Question

The letter puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ and mimicked gas chambers? Did you expose your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

The Signatories

The group of 11 survivors includes individuals with devastating personal stories from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to 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 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.

Mounting Testimony

This action is a response to the rejection of related testimony by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a senior party figure.

Since the initial report, further individuals from that era have spoken out. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now claim they observed bigoted conduct by him.

One well-known account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish award-winning director, who recalls that a young Farage would approach him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.

Additional Claims

More individuals from diverse backgrounds have additionally shared experiences with accounts of personal harassment.

• Cyrus Oshidar stated he was referred to as a "Paki" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were devoid of malice.
• Another student of Asian heritage portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal puts forth an ultimate challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are lying? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must never be normalised. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."