The family of world-renowned author Roald Dahl has issued an apology for his anti-Semitic beliefs.
Dahl, the author of classic children’s books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and Matilda, died 30 years ago. However, his legacy remains complicated, given his promotion of anti-Semitism.
“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,” said the Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company in a statement.
“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,” the statement said. “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.”
The statement was published on the author’s website, but no date was included to indicate when it had been posted. It first garnered attention when the Sunday Times, a British newspaper, referenced it in an article on Sunday.
“There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity,” Dahl said in a 1983 interview with the New Statesman. He reiterated those views stating, “I am certainly anti-Israel, and I have become anti-Semitic,” in a subsequent interview with the Independent, a British newspaper, months before his death.
The organization issued another statement “apologizing for the worlds of a much-loved grandparent,” to the New York Times and added that his views “were entirely unacceptable.”
