Holocaust Survivors Demand Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Claimed Anti-Jewish Remarks.

A group of Holocaust survivors has publicly demanded that Nigel Farage be honest and express remorse for alleged anti-Jewish abuse he reportedly directed toward Jewish pupils during his youth.

The Reform UK leader has previously stated he never targeted anyone with the aim to hurt, framing it may have been mere "childish teasing".

"As Shoah survivors, we comprehend the grave risk of words of hatred – because we have seen where such words can lead," wrote the survivors in a letter.

"Let us be clear: expressing admiration for Hitler, mocking gas chambers, or shouting racist insults is not simple joking. Not among children. Not anywhere."

A Direct Question

The letter poses direct questions to the party leader: "Are the claims accurate that you stated ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas them,’ accompanied by mimicking gas chambers? Did you expose your peers to anti-Jewish taunts?"

The Survivors

The group of eleven survivors features individuals with deeply traumatic personal histories from the Holocaust.

• Hedi Argent, who lost 27 members of her family.
• Simon Winston, who was held in a ghetto before fleeing in 1942 and spending 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.

Other signatories include Janine Webber, Edith Jayne, Helen Aronson, Ruth Barnett, John Fieldsend, Susan Pollack, Hanneke Dye and Agnes Kaposi.

Increasing Allegations

This public letter comes after the characterisation of related accounts by more than two dozen former pupils and teachers as "made-up twaddle" by a deputy leader.

After the story broke, more contemporaries have spoken out. Twenty-eight ex-students and educators now claim they saw prejudiced actions by him.

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

Additional Claims

Other former pupils from ethnic minorities have additionally come forward with stories of direct abuse.

• Cyrus Oshidar claimed he was called a "racial slur" and has dismissed the notion that such actions were without intent.
• Another individual with Asian roots portrayed 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 dilemma to Farage: "By denying saying those words, are you claiming that scores of witnesses are fabricating their stories? If the words were spoken, now is the moment to acknowledge you were wrong and say sorry."

"Those who aspire to lead our country should never sow discord by background or belief. Hatred of Jews must always be confronted. This moment is about personal accountability. The decision is your own, Mr Farage."