I take it that 'Did you know the man?' is a rhetorical question. I 'know' that Orwell was antisemitic, because of some of the stuff he has written. I have read

I take it that 'Did you know the man?' is a rhetorical question. I 'know' that Orwell was antisemitic, because of some of the stuff he has written. I have read 'Down and out in Paris and London', and 'Burmese Days' (apart from 'Homage to Catalonia' and '1984'), and in both books I got the clear impression that Orwell was an anti-semite. The essay to which you have linked surprised me; I can only conclude that Orwell must have been an anti-semite most of his life, and changed (or at least appeared to change) his views towards the very end of his life.