Is Nigel Farage a racist and an antisemite?

Recent excesses of antisemitism in the UK and elsewhere prompt me to occasionally deviate from the core subject of this blog. I hope you share my concerns and understand my decision.

Nigel Farage had a checkered political career. Currently, he is the  Leader of Reform UK. His ascent is marked not least by a tension between multiple accusations of antisemitism and his contemporary efforts to cultivate support within the Jewish community. Navigating this divide requires distinguishing between corroborated documentation, historical allegations, and the evolving rhetorical strategies of his adult career.

The most severe and graphic allegations of racism regarding Farage’s early life stem from his time at Dulwich College during the early 1980s. Numerous former classmates have provided testimonies claiming that Farage exhibited overt neo-fascist and antisemitic behaviour, including allegations that he sang racist songs and directed antisemitic slurs at Jewish students.

Specific Alleged Statements:

• Growled “Hitler was right” or “Gas them” at Jewish classmate Peter Ettedgui, sometimes adding a hissing sound to mimic gas showers.
• Used racial slurs like the “W-word” (for Black people) and “P-word” (for South Asians).
• Had a “big issue with anyone called Patel,” targeting those with South Asian names.

Specific Alleged Actions:

• Led or taught younger cadets the “Gas ’em all” song (“Gas them all, gas them out, gas them all, into the chambers they crawl”) on CCF coaches and trips.
• Marched through a Sussex village at night shouting Hitler Youth songs, as reported in a 1981 teacher’s letter opposing his prefect appointment.
• Made the Nazi salute in public and school settings, while praising Adolf Hitler.
• Mocked Black, Jewish, and Asian students; picked on Asian juniors by asking their origin and gesturing “that’s the way back.”
• Put a pupil in detention for not joining in with racist behavior, as prefect.

While Farage has consistently denied these accounts, characterizing them as exaggerated “schoolboy banter” rather than genuine malice, the credibility of these reports is heightened by contemporary evidence. Specifically, a 1981 letter from a teacher, Chloe Deakin, formally warned the school’s headmaster against appointing Farage as a prefect, citing his “publicly professed racist” and “neo-fascist” views. While this document confirms that faculty were deeply concerned about his extremist sentiments at seventeen, the specific content of his alleged taunts remains grounded in testimonial accounts rather than verified transcripts.

As Farage transitioned into public life, criticisms shifted from interpersonal school behaviour to his use of specific political rhetoric. In various broadcasts between 2009 and 2018, Farage discussed topics that critics argue invoked traditional antisemitic tropes. For instance, his comments regarding the influence of a “Jewish lobby” on American foreign policy and his frequent, pointed attacks on billionaire philanthropist George Soros—framed through the lens of “globalist” interference—have been described by advocacy groups as “dog-whistling,” a practice of signaling coded messages to extremist elements. Farage has consistently defended these remarks as legitimate critiques of ideological and political influence, asserting that his focus is on the power dynamics of global institutions rather than on ethnic groups.

In recent years, particularly as leader of Reform UK, Farage has made a concerted effort to align himself with the British Jewish community. This strategy is evidenced by the 2026 launch of the “Reform Jewish Alliance,” an organization aimed at courting Jewish voters by emphasizing shared concerns regarding security and the protection of Judeo-Christian values. Farage has positioned himself as a defender of Israel and a critic of the UK government’s response to rising antisemitism, often arguing that the primary threats to Jewish life in Britain stem from mass migration.

The question, I feel, is whether these policy stances opportunistically replace one form of racism with another, or whether they reflect a real effort to build a political alliance. In any case, to me his current posture seems more of a strategic pivot than a true departure from the antisemitic rhetoric of his past.

So, is Nigel Farage a racist and an antisemite?

I let you decide.