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Roald Dahl's family apologises for his antisemitism
Statement on author’s official website accepts his views caused ‘lasting and understandable hurt’
December 6, 2020 12:28
Statement on author’s official website accepts his views caused ‘lasting and understandable hurt’
December 6, 2020 12:28The family of Roald Dahl have published a quiet apology for his antisemitism on the late author's website.
In a move the took place without pre-publicity or without consultation with any communal organisations, his estate wrote that the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author’s antisemitic views were “incomprehensible to us.”
The statement “regarding antisemitic comments made by Roald Dahl” was signed by the Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the rights of the author’s characters and stories.
To find the apology on the novelist's official website it was necessary to scroll down to the bottom of the page, click 'About us' and then choose the option which read 'Find out more about the Roald Dahl Story Company'
It stated;:"The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologise for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahl's statements.
"Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories which have positively impacted young people for generations.
"We just hope that, just as he did at his best, at his absolute worst Roald Dahl can help remind us of the lasting impact of words."
In an interview in 1983, Mr Dahl had said: “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity ….even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”
As well as his notorious interview with the New Statesman, Mr Dahl later acknowledged his antisemitism in an article in the Independent in 1990. He said: “I’m certainly anti-Israeli, and I’ve become antisemitic in as much as that you get a Jewish person in another country like England strongly supporting Zionism. I think they should see both sides.
“It’s the same old thing: we all know about Jews and the rest of it. There aren’t any non-Jewish publishers anywhere, they control the media – jolly clever thing to do – that’s why the president of the United States has to sell all this stuff to Israel.”
His estate has more recently signed lucrative spin-off deals to adapt his works including a Netflix series about the Ooompa-Loompas, and the film version of The Witches, which came out this year.
The recognition of Mr Dahl’s open racism came amidst fears it could tarnish his legacy and his global brand.
In a further statement his family told the Sunday Times: “Apologising for the words of a much-loved grandparent is a challenging thing to do, but made more difficult when the words are so hurtful to an entire community.
“We loved Roald, but we passionately disagree with his antisemitic comments…
“These comments do not reflect what we see in his work – a desire for the acceptance of everyone equally – and were entirely unacceptable. We are truly sorry.”
