Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Make Amends Over Reported Anti-Jewish Statements.

A coalition of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage tell the truth and apologise for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish students during his school days.

The Reform UK leader has claimed he never insulted anyone with malicious intent, suggesting it may have been mere "schoolyard talk".

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

"It is crucial to understand: expressing admiration for Hitler, jeering at gas chambers, or directing racial slurs is not teasing. Not among children. Not under any circumstances."

A Pointed Inquiry

The letter puts forth straightforward questions to the party leader: "Is it true you said ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you subject your classmates to antisemitic abuse?"

The Survivors

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

• Hedi Argent, who saw the murder of 27 members of her immediate and extended family.
• Simon Winston, who was confined to a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and living through the rest of the war in hiding.
• Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and later transferred to Bergen-Belsen, where she was liberated.

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 dismissal of related accounts by more than two dozen ex-schoolmates and teachers as "complete fiction" by a deputy leader.

Following the publication, more contemporaries have come forward. Twenty-eight people connected to the school now claim they witnessed racist or antisemitic behaviour by him.

One notable allegation comes from Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish-born Bafta and Emmy-winning director, who has stated that a young Farage would approach him and repeat the phrases "Hitler had the correct idea" and "gas them", on occasion making a hiss to mimic the sound of gas chambers.

Additional Claims

Additional alumni from diverse backgrounds have additionally spoken publicly with accounts of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar said he was branded a "Paki" and has rejected the idea that such actions were not meant to hurt.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed him as an "avowed bigot" who would use the phrase "Enoch Powell was right" as a form of "racial bullying".

The Ultimate Question

The final appeal puts forth an ultimate question to Farage: "If you deny saying those words, is your position that dozens of individuals are fabricating their stories? Should the allegations be true, now is the time to admit your error and apologise."

"People who hope to lead our country should never divide people by ethnicity or faith. Antisemitic hatred must never be normalised. This moment is about moral responsibility. The decision is yours, Mr Farage."