Shoah Survivors Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A coalition of Shoah survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported anti-Jewish abuse he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his time at school.

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

"Being Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words ultimately lead," stated the survivors in a missive.

"Let us be clear: lauding Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not banter. Not among children. Not ever."

A Direct Question

The document puts forth straightforward questions to the political figure: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to bigoted harassment?"

Those Who Signed

The collective of 11 survivors contains individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• 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.

Growing Accounts

This public letter is a response to the characterisation of corroborating testimony by more than two dozen or more ex-schoolmates and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

Since the initial report, more contemporaries have shared their stories. Twenty-eight former pupils and teachers now assert they witnessed bigoted conduct by him.

One prominent testimony comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born award-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was right" and "gas them", at times adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of poison gas.

A Broader Pattern

More individuals from ethnic minorities have also come forward with allegations of direct abuse.

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

A Concluding Demand

The final appeal asks a concluding question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Anti-Jewish bigotry must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."