I FRONTLINES I SATURDAY ONLY! SATURDAY ONLY! Roald Dahl Assures Kids He's Not Anti-Semitic JEREMY GORDIN Special to The Jewish News B est- selling children's author Roald Dahl has assured a group of children at a San Francisco Jewish day school that he's not anti-Semitic. The author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (later made into the popular Willy Wonka movie) and James and the Giant Peach made the statement in a letter to Dinah Stroe's second graders in the Brandeis- Hillel Day School. Dahl's response was to letters from the children sent him at his Buck- inghamshire, England, home. In those letters, Stroe and the youngsters expressed dismay at the contents of a March 30 Jewish Bulletin article based on an earlier report in the London Jewish Chronicle. In the original story, Dahl admitted to being anti-Israel and, as a result, anti- Semitic. That article, Stroe said, "stopped me in my tracks. It stunned me personally, and raised the issue of hating the human being from his crea- tion — that issue of Wagner vs. his music, Ezra Pound vs. his poetry, etcetera." "But, more importantly, the class was busy reading Danny the Champion of the World and were loving it." After discussing the arti- cle, Stroe's students voted to suspend reading the Dahl book and to write the author asking if the report was true. In his reply, dated April 23, Dahl insisted: "I am not anti-Semitic. I am simply anti the present Israeli government and anyone who supports it." The author sent his letter to students Ari Baruth, Michael Block, Aliza Cohen, David Edwards, Hanan Katz-Lewis, Zack Mabel and Tamara Mittman — all 7 and 8 years old — and to Stroe, their general studies teacher. "The trouble with many Jewish people in other coun- tries is that they refuse to look at both sides of the coin," Dahl wrote, "and anyone, like me for instance, who dares to raise a voice against Israel is immedi- ately labeled an anti- Semite." Included in the packet of children's letters to Dahl was Stroe's own, which said in part: "When I read the ar- ticle in the Bulletin, I felt hurt beyond words. Have you really jumped from a po- litical sentiment to a racist position of being a self- iden- tified anti-Semite? I find this abhorrent and frankly unbelievable. From your writings I had judged you to be a fair and loving man. Could I possibly be wrong?" Ari Baruth and Zack Mabel wrote together: "Is this really true that you don't like Jews? We really like your books. We felt dis- appointed because you don't like Jews. Why don't you like some Jews? Just be- cause you don't like Israel doesn't mean you don't have to like Jews in America." And from Aliza Cohen and Tamara Mittman came the message: "We love your books, but we have a prob- lem: we are Jews!! You don't like us because we are Jews. That offends us." Dahl, for his part, included a few terse words about the current situation in Israel's territories. "I do hope you [Stroe] will have a discussion about all this with your schoolchildren," he wrote, "and you might ask them how they would feel if they were Palestinian children forced to live in appalling squalor in the those ghastly camps on the Gaza Strip." In the end, with Dahl's reply in hand, the class decided to continue reading his books. "I felt a little better," said Rebecca Reiner. Said Tiffany Hahn: "I felt more relaxed when he wrote because I thought we wouldn't be able to read his books again, but now we can." All in all, according to Stroe, "the kids were very satisfied and proud that Dahl took the trouble to an- swer, and I was, too. We put about 15 to 20 class hours into understanding and dealing with the issue, and the children seem happy with Dahl's reaction. "They felt he had satisfac- torily explained himself. It seemed clear to them that Dahl had a political point of view, to which he is entitled, and that he is not anti- Semitic." But, says Stroe, citing Dahl's anti-Israel passion, "personally, I am not so sure." 0 Sells Saabs for Less! The LOWEST FIXED FINANCE RATE And HUGE CASH REBATES! YOU GET BOTH!! 2.75% 3.75% 4.75% APR Financing 24 mos.* APR Financing 36 mos.* APR Financing 48 mos.* PLUS S SATURDAY ONLY!! 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. LA BRIAN With approved credit. Applies to in-stock Saab units only. Order cars do not quality. Prior sales excluded. Dealer participation may affect the selling price of these vehicles. Maximum amount to finance may be limited to $15,000. On Telegraph Rd. at Tel-12 Mall, Southfield OLDSMOBILE • SAAB .1 - 11- .1e New Uenemtion 354-3300 OLDSMOBILE THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 3