Roald Dahl’s family apologise for his anti-semitic views

The esteemed children's author was openly anti-semitic

The family of esteemed children's author Roald Dahl have publicly apologised for his anti-semitism in a statement. Dahl died in 1990 but his novels are still widely regarded as some of the best English literature aimed at children. Novels such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr Fox have been adapted into blockbuster films by highly acclaimed directors Tim Burton and Wes Anderson. But while he has earned great success in the world of literature, he also made numerous, unapologetic anti-semitic remarks throughout his life. In an interview with the New Statesman in 1983, he said: “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it’s a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there’s always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.”

He added: “Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”

The Welsh born author also made offensive remarks seven years later, speaking to the Independent. "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," he said.

"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.”

The grumbling apology that his family published is buried deep on his website, is not mentioned in his official bio on the site, and was not sent to any Jewish organisations. "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," the statement reads. "Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations. We 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."