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Culture · Antisemitism

The Big Friendly Jew-Hating Giant

Summarizing Judith Miller in Tablet · Published Tuesday, April 14, 2026
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JL;DR SUMMARY Judith Miller discusses the new Broadway play "Giant," which explores Roald Dahl's 1983 antisemitic book review and its repercussions. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Broadway  Roald Dahl  Cancel Culture  Giant  John Lithgow  Mark Rosenblatt  Jewish Publishers  Puffin Books  Art And Ethics 

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"Because this is New York, and not London, Stones defense of Israel drew spontaneous, if scattered applause from the audience the night I attended the play."
London, England, United Kingdom
"Giant, starring the incomparable John Lithgow, opened on March 23 on Broadway at the Music Box Theatre after a wildly successful run in Londons West End, where it sold out every show at the Harold Pinter Theatre for 14 weeks."
United Kingdom
"The play focuses on the scandal surrounding Roald Dahl, one of Englands most celebrated and successful childrens authors."
Kent, England, United Kingdom
"What would your government do if militants constitutionally committed to wiping Britain off the map started firing rockets into Kent from the French coast?"
Lebanon
"Dahls inexpiable sin was writing an antisemitic review of a book in 1983 about Israels invasion of Lebanon a year earlier."
Israel
"She is Jewish, whether she is observant, and why she appears to be so indifferent to Israels carnage in Lebanon."
Libya
"At some points, Rosenblatt appears to try to make Dahl more sympathetic by referencing the many tragedies that shaped, or misshaped, his lifethe death of his father and sister when he was three; his plane crash in Libya when he was a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II, which smashed his body to bits, and the series of operations to repair the damage that left him forever in pain; the shattering of the skull of his infant son, Theo, hit in his pram by a New York City taxi driver; the multiple surgeries, which nonetheless left him brain-damaged; and the death of his seven-year-old daughter, Olivia, from measles two years later, a tragedy that turned him into a passionate advocate for vaccines."

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Retrieved 2026-04-15 05:31:15 UTC
Curated 2026-04-15 08:30:52 UTC