By Roger Tucker
The quenelle is first inserted into the cavity...
 
The current flap over the gesture called a “quenelle” is revealing in a number of ways. It’s instructive to look first at a couple of Wikipedia entries. “The word quenelle is derived from the German Knödel (noodle or dumpling)” (which we know from Yiddish cuisine as a knadel). “French political activist and comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala is credited with creating and popularizing the gesture, which he first used in 2005 in his sketch entitled 1905 about French secularism and has been used since in a wide variety of contexts.. The first time Dieudonné used the gesture in a political context was for his 2009 European election campaign poster for the "anti-Zionist party", he stated that his intention was "to put a quenelle into Zionism's butt"..  “The name quenelle comes from an elongated fish meatballs dish, which is said to look like a suppository. Hence, the phrase 'mettre une quenelle' ('to give someone the quenelle'), with a gesture simulating fisting practice, is similar to the English 'up yours'. The arm outstretched refers to the length of the arm going up one's bottom." Such a rich word, with so many Jewish-related meanings.
 
“When French footballer Nicolas Anelka of West Bromwich Albion F.C. performed the quenelle to celebrate scoring a goal on 28 December 2013, the gesture, which was already considered ‘something of a viral trend’ in France, became an international news story and one of the most searched terms on Google. Anelka described the gesture as anti-establishment rather than religious in nature, and said he did a quenelle as a "special dedication" to his friend Dieudonné. However, French minister for sport Valérie Fourneyron called his actions "shocking" and "disgusting", adding: "There’s no place for anti-Semitism on the football field.." In response to the incident, club sponsor Zoopla announced that it would not continue its sponsorship deal with West Bromwich after the 2013–14 season..” (The Wikipedia entry fails to mention that Zoopla is co-owned by Jewish businessman Alex Chesterman.) “Each year, the ‘Golden Quenelle’, (Quenelle d'Or) is given, in a parody of the Oscar ceremony, to the people who expressed the most anti-establishment views.”  Quelle phénomène!