Shoah Victims Call On Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Comments.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has insisted that Nigel Farage be honest and issue an apology for reported antisemitic abuse attributed to him toward Jewish schoolmates during his time at school.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with the aim to hurt, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have witnessed where such words ultimately lead," declared the survivors in a missive.

"We must be unambiguous: praising Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or hurling racist abuse is not simple joking. Not in a playground. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The letter puts forth straightforward questions to the public figure: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ while mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to anti-Jewish taunts?"

Those Who Signed

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with harrowing personal experiences from the Nazi genocide.

• Hedi Argent, who was bereaved of 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in 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 transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was freed.

Additional names on the letter 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 characterisation of similar accounts by more than two dozen or more alumni and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, additional former pupils have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now state they observed bigoted conduct by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a teenage Farage would sidle up to him and utter the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "send them to the gas chambers", sometimes adding a hiss to imitate the sound of poison gas.

A Broader Pattern

More individuals from minority ethnic backgrounds have additionally come forward with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "blatant racist" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "ethnic harassment".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal asks a concluding question to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, are you claiming that 20 former classmates and teachers are not telling the truth? If you did say them, now is the time to take responsibility and make amends."

"Those who seek to govern our country should not ever divide people by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about ethical duty. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."