Holocaust Victims Urge Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Reported Anti-Jewish Comments.

A collective of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and apologise for reported antisemitic comments he is said to have made toward Jewish pupils during his school days.

The political party leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with malicious intent, proposing it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

"Being Holocaust survivors, we grasp the profound danger of words of hatred – for we have witnessed where such words inevitably end," wrote the survivors in a open letter.

"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not simple joking. Not among children. Not ever."

An Unequivocal Demand

The correspondence puts forth blunt 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 antisemitic abuse?"

Those Who Signed

The group of 11 survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal stories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before breaking out in 1942 and living through the rest of the war as a fugitive.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was sent to 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.

Increasing Allegations

This intervention is a response to the rejection of corroborating allegations by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "fabricated nonsense" by a deputy leader.

Following the publication, further individuals from that era have come forward. Nearly thirty former pupils and teachers now state they saw prejudiced actions by him.

One notable account comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler was correct" and "gas them", sometimes making a hiss to imitate the sound of the gas chambers.

Further Allegations

Other former pupils from diverse backgrounds have also shared experiences with allegations of targeted insults.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was referred to as a "racial slur" and has labelled as rubbish the notion that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another pupil of Asian descent characterised him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell had a point" as a form of "racial intimidation".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal poses a final challenge to Farage: "Should you continue to deny saying those words, do you mean that 20 former classmates and teachers are lying? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and apologise."

"Individuals who seek to govern our country should never divide people by race or religion. Antisemitic hatred must always be confronted. This moment is about moral responsibility. The path forward is your own, Mr Farage."