Farage urged by Prime Minister to apologise to Jewish former schoolmates over alleged antisemitic taunts
Ex-Dulwich College pupils claim Farge used taunts such as 'gas them' and 'Hitler was right' but he insists he 'never directly racially abused anybody'
The Prime Minister has called on Nigel Farage to “seek out” former Jewish pupils from his private school and “apologise to them” over allegations that the Reform UK leader subjected them to taunts such as “gas them” and “Hitler was right.”
On Monday, Farage, 61, responded to the allegations published by The Guardian, insisting he had “never directly racially abused anybody” during his time at Dulwich College.
However, Peter Ettedgui, a Jewish former pupil who sat near Farage in Class 3R, said he clearly remembered being subjected to antisemitic abuse by Farage—something he had never experienced before.
Stefan Benarroch, another Jewish former pupil who was two years below Farage, said that while he was not personally targeted, he recalled the abuse directed at Ettedgui.
He also claimed that students leaving Jewish assemblies at Dulwich College were targeted by Farage and others for taunts.
“He was such a gentle soul and Farage – Farage made his life a fucking nightmare,” Benarroch told the Guardian.
“They could only identify us, because we had to go to this stupid Jewish service in the science labs school. I mean, none of us were remotely religious. They would hang out there. Farage would hang out with his minions. And then they would taunt us as we would leave.”
A third former pupil, Rickard Berg, who was in the same year as Farage during O-levels, told The Guardian he also remembered the abuse of Ettedgui as direct and intended to hurt.
Ettedgui recounted to the newspaper and the BBC: “One of the most vivid memories of my school life is Farage repeatedly coming up to me and, knowing that I was Jewish, saying ‘Hitler was right’ and ‘gas ’em,’ often followed by a ‘sssss’ sound, imitating escaping gas.
“That’s my abiding memory of him, and that sort of verbal abuse happened quite consistently over the year we were in the same class. It was pretty vicious, pretty nasty, and absolutely directed at me in a very personal way.”
At Prime Minister’s Questions, in response to a question from MP Luke Akehurst about the impact of Reform policies on a council in the north-east, the Prime Minister referenced the allegations, which have been supported by more than a dozen former Dulwich College pupils from the late 1970s and early 1980s, who claim to have witnessed Farage being antisemitic and racist.
The PM described Farage’s response to the allegations as “unconvincing, to say the least,” adding: “He says he never engaged with racism with intent… with intent? What does that mean? ”
Starmer continued:”I have no doubt that if a young Jewish student was hissed at to mimic the sound of a gas chamber, they would find it upsetting. He may want to forget that. They won’t. He clearly remembers some of what happened. He should seek those people out and go and apologise to them.”
The Guardian reported it has spoken to more than 20 individuals who allege racist or antisemitic behaviour by Farage at school, including seven who recall the targeted abuse of Ettedgui, now an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director.
Responding to the fresh claims Farage said:“I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published in the Guardian aged 13, nearly 50 years ago,” he said.
But speaking to broadcasters on Monday he said: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter in a playground, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”
He went on to admit that he “probably” had “misspoken in my younger days” and that he hoped he had not said anything that could be construed as racist but that his recollection was imperfect after more than four decades.
He denied directly abusing anyone, which he defined as “taking it out on an individual on the basis of who they are or what they are.”
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