Thank you Hen! It was good to read about a children’s author whose books I once loved and read with delight to my own children. I understand your last sentence. It is something casting a pall over all you do, you wake up with it and close your eyes at the end of the day with it. It feels like a living nightmare.
🙏 A brilliant illustration of how insidious antisemitism is. And how hideous it is to listen to this sickness played back - hatred being justified against an entire people 😔🥺 I’m sorry Hen.
Excellent dive into this play! I always find the attempt to whitewash Ashkenazi history (while somehow deeming that proximity to Arab colonialism is a measure of Jewish authenticity) truly bizarre. *Nearly all* Jewish communities faced subjugation in diaspora. Ashkenazim were among the most persecuted for being foreign, “Semitic” “oriental” and non-European….only to turn around and have it all erased for political reasons.
For insights into Dahl, read his memoir of his early childhood: Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984).
He was an abused child in the British boarding school system and I think it explains why he wrote so beautifully in his novels about children who were underdogs. It doesn't explain why he engaged in abusive attitudes towards Jews...
I wonder if that's the part of appeal of antisemitism - maybe why it shows up in some remarkable characters (Chaucer, Kipling, Shakespeare) gives a place for all their hate to go - esp bc they can hate us for every reason, or no reason.
i'd love nothing more than to see on line video of any Jew beating the dog shit out of anyone who thought that bullying that Jew would be easy-peezy. If I'm out in public, and I see a mamzer bullying a Jew, that mamzer will have to deal with me. I promise you, there will be hard blows delivered in defense of Jewish safety and Jewish honor.
My father grew up in London in the 50s and knew of Dahl as an antisemite. He objected to having his books in the house, didn’t want us reading them. We had to hide them from him.
Thank you. Have been waiting to read this piece. At a moment when the distinctions between anti semitism and opposition to Israel are subjects of intense debate, the fact that this very highly regarded play firmly takes a position on this question has been more or less ignored in reviews. Yes — the play is about what happens when our heroes turn out to be monsters — but it’s also very much about the extent to which a notorious anti Semite tries to hide his prejudices behind the claims of anti-Zionism. Interesting that so many reviews seem to have missed this. Thanks for writing it.
Regarding reading Dahl with children, or watching the movies…always difficult explaining antisemitism to kids. A compromise could be holding off anything Dahl unless specifically requested or read in school, at which time consult a young Jewish educator or children’s librarian on how to approach the issue when you feel it’s appropriate.
The challenge with Dahl is his antisemitism isn’t printed on the page, unlike antisemitic cartoons or political posters in plain view
And what about Mahler? The Israeli Philharmonic struggled with performing his music for decades.
Ironic that antisemites have no problem “voicing” opinions. We have a problem dealing with it.
I saw Giant this past week. At first I did not want to, feeling that I would be supporting such a hate filled view, but friends who have seen it told me just the opposite. The acting was brilliant yet I still cringed hearing such hate filled words directed at me. Giving life, any any form, to these words still feels wrong and very hurtful. I couldn't help wonder if an audience member would break out in applause in unison with Lithgow. It didn't happen. Perhaps I have read too much propaganda in the NY Times and think so much of the hate has become normalized and the truth twisted?
Just saw this Friday night and was honestly a little apprehensive. “I’m pretty fully stocked up on antisemitism” I said to a friend before I went. But you nailed it. It was powerful, important, and I breathed the slightest breath of relief when an audience member behind me gasped at the end when Dahl spews Jew hatred explicitly with a glimmer of glee in his eyes. I do hope people who have carelessly parroted anti-Zionist talking points see this show—and themselves—in a man who thought his hatred was built on the moral high ground.
Thank you Hen! It was good to read about a children’s author whose books I once loved and read with delight to my own children. I understand your last sentence. It is something casting a pall over all you do, you wake up with it and close your eyes at the end of the day with it. It feels like a living nightmare.
True. It is a living nightmare. We no longer have to ponder what 1930’s Europe felt like. Nor, ‘what would we do?’ Here we are.
🙏 A brilliant illustration of how insidious antisemitism is. And how hideous it is to listen to this sickness played back - hatred being justified against an entire people 😔🥺 I’m sorry Hen.
Excellent dive into this play! I always find the attempt to whitewash Ashkenazi history (while somehow deeming that proximity to Arab colonialism is a measure of Jewish authenticity) truly bizarre. *Nearly all* Jewish communities faced subjugation in diaspora. Ashkenazim were among the most persecuted for being foreign, “Semitic” “oriental” and non-European….only to turn around and have it all erased for political reasons.
For insights into Dahl, read his memoir of his early childhood: Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984).
He was an abused child in the British boarding school system and I think it explains why he wrote so beautifully in his novels about children who were underdogs. It doesn't explain why he engaged in abusive attitudes towards Jews...
I wonder if that's the part of appeal of antisemitism - maybe why it shows up in some remarkable characters (Chaucer, Kipling, Shakespeare) gives a place for all their hate to go - esp bc they can hate us for every reason, or no reason.
And with so little risk…
Your guess is as good as mine. Dahl showed such compassion for abused children, this revelation about him is a disappointment
Good article. Harder to cope as one ages, with illness, with poverty.
Antizionism is a hate movement. We must name what this author expressed then and now- hatred of Israel and the Jewish collective is antizionism.
I have always been the non-cowardly Jew.
And I don't say this trying to promote myself as a "tough guy".
I'm not, in my opinion.
I'm kind hearted by nature.
My father taught me to never allow anyone to dump jew-hate on me.
When I was 12 years old,
in grade school in Utica NY
A boy called me a kike.
It was very personal
aimed directly at me
in front of others.
I went for his throat
found it and clamped it in my 12 year old hands
and tole him
"if you EVER say that to me again,
I'll KILL you"
I meant every word, as much as a 12 year old could.
He was bigger than me.
His eyes were bulging with fear.
Any time I saw him after that, he was respectful towards me.
When I was 16 or 17
an Irish boy was egging me on to fight him
I tried to walk way
He wasn't having it
Things crossed the threshold wherein walking away
was no longer an option.
I threw the first punch
it hit him high on his forehead
he dropped
I pounced on hi and rained punches into
the handsome face
of the cocky Irish lad."
I saw the terror I his eyes
Instead of continuing
on his self-designated journey
to the ICU,
I stopped striking him
and as I sat on his chest
looking down at him
he said,
"I didn't think a Jew could fight".
I let him get up and go home.
As I said,
I have a kind Jewish heart.
I'm now 77.
Whether it's wise or unwise
I'm still ready to fight if I have to
For myself
For my family
For Jewish honor too
But, I'm really a kind hearted person.
The world cannot embrace the fighting Jew, only a dead Jew...
I think we're all learning that lesson - a lesson the whole world needs to learn. We can fight. And we fight to win.
i'd love nothing more than to see on line video of any Jew beating the dog shit out of anyone who thought that bullying that Jew would be easy-peezy. If I'm out in public, and I see a mamzer bullying a Jew, that mamzer will have to deal with me. I promise you, there will be hard blows delivered in defense of Jewish safety and Jewish honor.
Great piece
My father grew up in London in the 50s and knew of Dahl as an antisemite. He objected to having his books in the house, didn’t want us reading them. We had to hide them from him.
Thank you. Have been waiting to read this piece. At a moment when the distinctions between anti semitism and opposition to Israel are subjects of intense debate, the fact that this very highly regarded play firmly takes a position on this question has been more or less ignored in reviews. Yes — the play is about what happens when our heroes turn out to be monsters — but it’s also very much about the extent to which a notorious anti Semite tries to hide his prejudices behind the claims of anti-Zionism. Interesting that so many reviews seem to have missed this. Thanks for writing it.
Those last two lines…
Well said Hen. Well said indeed.
Regarding reading Dahl with children, or watching the movies…always difficult explaining antisemitism to kids. A compromise could be holding off anything Dahl unless specifically requested or read in school, at which time consult a young Jewish educator or children’s librarian on how to approach the issue when you feel it’s appropriate.
The challenge with Dahl is his antisemitism isn’t printed on the page, unlike antisemitic cartoons or political posters in plain view
And what about Mahler? The Israeli Philharmonic struggled with performing his music for decades.
Ironic that antisemites have no problem “voicing” opinions. We have a problem dealing with it.
“It is how cruelty travels ..” 🥺
i wonder how many in the audience saw themselves.
I saw Giant this past week. At first I did not want to, feeling that I would be supporting such a hate filled view, but friends who have seen it told me just the opposite. The acting was brilliant yet I still cringed hearing such hate filled words directed at me. Giving life, any any form, to these words still feels wrong and very hurtful. I couldn't help wonder if an audience member would break out in applause in unison with Lithgow. It didn't happen. Perhaps I have read too much propaganda in the NY Times and think so much of the hate has become normalized and the truth twisted?
The reason no one applauded Lithgow's line is because there were probably few Muslims or twisted Progressives in the audience.
Just saw this Friday night and was honestly a little apprehensive. “I’m pretty fully stocked up on antisemitism” I said to a friend before I went. But you nailed it. It was powerful, important, and I breathed the slightest breath of relief when an audience member behind me gasped at the end when Dahl spews Jew hatred explicitly with a glimmer of glee in his eyes. I do hope people who have carelessly parroted anti-Zionist talking points see this show—and themselves—in a man who thought his hatred was built on the moral high ground.