Tuesday, May 02, 2006

French comedy no laughing matter

Two months ago, Jerry Lewis received France's highest civilian honor. As I once did, the French view him as one of the greatest comedians ever.

But then I turned 10, and got on with the rest of my life. But the French see things differently than everyone else.

Good friend of the blog Steven Plaut has a new FrontPage Magazine article up about a French comedian, Dieudonné M'Bala M'Bala, who is quite popular in France today.

As Dr. Plaut explains, M'Bala M'Bala, is the result of a union between a British mother and a Cameroonian father. That enough would make him unique in the Gallic state, but his hateful comedy performed at the expense of Jews puts him in a rank of his own.

Not the least significant reason for Dieudonné's appeal is his eagerness to pander to the anti-Israel prejudices of French audiences. In one of his more notorious acts, he dressed up as a uniformed Israeli settler in the Palestinian occupied territories, gave Nazi salutes, and called upon young people to "join the American-Zionist axis."

He also likes to dress up as a rabbi on stage and cry "Isra-heil!" During an anti-Israel sketch in which he portrays Hitler in his bunker, Dieudonné closes with the line: "You will see, in the future, people will come to realize that I, Adolf Hitler, was really a moderate."

As such punch lines suggest, Dieudonné has a fairly extensive repertoire of anti-Jewish "humor." He frequently attacks Jews for "whining" about the Holocaust even as they are "mistreating" the Palestinians.

Little Green Footballs has more (including a picture of M'Bala M'Bala) here.

M'Bala M'Bala has had a few run-ins with the French authorities ovinflammatorymmotory anti-Semitic comments, but the simple truth is that he's one of France's most popular comedians.

So in 50 years it's quite possible M'Bala M'Bala will receive France-istan's highest civilian honor. If that happens, look for him to tell Jew jokes at the expense of Jerry Lewis.

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