Roald Dahl: Royal Mint rejected writer over his anti-semitism
You won’t see a coin that commemorates the life of Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) because the Royal Mint was put off by the author’s antisemitic views. The Guardian says the Royal Mint’s planned to produce a coin in 2014 to coincide with the centenary of Dahl’s birth. But this was stopped when it was decided that Dahl was “not regarded as an author of the highest reputation”.
Instead of Dahl, the Mint opted for coins to mark the lives of William Shakespeare and Beatrix Potter.
The decision was made despite the Royal Mail honouring the children’s author with a set of commemorative stamps celebrating his books, many of which have been adapted into films. These include Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the BFG.
The minutes state: “The themes set out below were considered but not recommended. 100th anniversary of the birth of Roald Dahl. Associated with antisemitism and not regarded as an author of the highest reputation.”
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In 1983…Dahl told the New Statesman: “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; even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.”
The Labour Party supporting New Statesman had a question that might have been rhetorical. Roald Dahl never edited the publication.
Dahl told the Independent in 1990:
“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 … ”
So instead of Roald Dahl, we got coins for Potter, the woman who opined: “The strongest impelling motive of the Jewish race is love of profit as distinct from any other form of money earning.”
What is is about wealthy, guilt-ridden Christian anti-Semites and their hatred for Jews who work in the face of prejudice to be as successful as they are?
Spotter: Guardian
Posted: 6th, November 2018 | In: Key Posts, News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
