New York, NY, December 31, 2008 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today condemned French performer Dieudonné M’bala M’bala for his grotesque onstage provocation of giving an award to Robert Faurisson, a serially convicted Holocaust denier, at a recent show at the Zenith theater in Paris.

In a videotaped performance, Dieudonné is seen encouraging the 5,000 member audience to give loud applause as the award was handed to Faurisson by someone costumed as a Jew with a yellow star on his chest.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

Dieudonné has a long history of making anti-Semitic comments and then denying he is an anti-Semite.  His grotesque onstage provocation of loudly applauding France’s most infamous Holocaust denier and urging the crowd to join him puts that question to rest.

The French entertainment industry has an opportunity to demonstrate that such views have no place in French society.  Having solidly established his reputation as an unabashed bigot, we hope reputable theaters and other performance centers will take into consideration Dieudonné’s bigotry before providing him platforms from which to insult Jews.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.