Henri Curiel

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Henri Curiel (September 13, 1914 - May 4, 1978) was a political activist, founder of a communist organization in Egypt. He was involved in the support of several national liberation causes until his assassination in Paris on May 4, 1978. Henri Curiel is buried at Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris.

The grave of Henri Curiel at Père Lachaise
The grave of Henri Curiel at Père Lachaise

Contents

[edit] Egypt

Born in Cairo to a Jewish family of Italian origins, he was the cousin of Eugenio Curiel, physicist and anti-fascist militant murdered in Italy in 1945. He was also the uncle of the famous British KGB spy George Blake.

Henri Curiel founded in 1943 the communist Egyptian Movement for National Liberation (HAMETU), which became in 1947 the Democratic Movement for National Liberation (HADETU). He was repeatedly arrested along with many communists and, despite his Egyptian citizenship, forced to emigrate in 1950. He established himself in France and led with a circle of Jewish communist emigres from Egypt a structure known as the "Rome Group".

[edit] An anticolonialist activist

Henri Curiel worked for the Jeanson network which supported the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) during the Algerian War (1954-62). He was arrested by the French security services in 1960. Curiel was then one of the founders of "Solidarité", a support group for various anticolonial and opposition movements in the Third World (in particular Africa and Latin America), such as the African National Congress (ANC).

In 1976, Henri Curiel initiated contacts with Israeli and Palestinian representatives willing to negotiate a mutual recognition. Several meetings, later known as the "Paris talks", were organized [1]. Under chairmanship of Pierre Mendès-France, they included among others Issam Sartawi, adviser to Yasser Arafat, Uri Avnery [2] and Mattityahu Peled, members of the Israeli Council For Israeli-Palestinian Peace (ICIPP).

On June 21, 1976, Georges Suffert published in the French magazine Le Point an article presenting Curiel as the "head of the terrorist support network", connected with the KGB. He was put under house arrest in Digne, an administrative measure that was lifted once the charges were proved inexistent [3].

[edit] Assassination on May 4, 1978

Henri Curiel was assassinated in Paris on May 4, 1978. A far-right group claimed responsibility, but the case is still unsolved. Speculations persist in three directions:

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] Comité Palestine et Israël Vivront Archives
  2. ^ 'my friendship with Henri Curiel, a Jewish-Egyptian revolutionary who helped us in our contacts with the PLO'Uri Avnery, 'Two Americas,' Counterpunch 24 March 2008
  3. ^ a b Henri Curiel, citizen of the third world, Le Monde diplomatique, April 1998 (English)/(French)
  4. ^ Lucien Aimé-Blanc, 2006
  5. ^ Alexandre Adler, 2006

[edit] Bibliography

  • Georges Suffert, Le patron des réseaux d'aide aux terroristes, Le Point, June 21, 1976
  • Roland Gaucher, Le Réseau Curiel ou la subversion humanitaire, Jean Picollec, 1981
  • Gilles Perrault, Un homme à part, Bernard Barrault, 1984
  • Alain Gresh, The PLO: The Struggle Within: Towards an Independent Palestine, London: Zed Books, 1985
  • Jacques Hassoun, La vie passionnée d'Henri Curiel, Revue d'études palestiniennes, 1998
  • Recherches Internationales, Crise et avenir de la solidarité internationale. Hommage à Henri Curiel, n° 52-53, 1998
  • Charles Enderlin, Paix ou guerres. Les secrets des négociations israélo-arabes 1917-1995, Stock, Paris, 2004
  • Alexandre Adler at the AJOE Congress, March 6, 2006
  • Lucien Aimé-Blanc, Jean-Michel Caradec'h, L'Indic et le Commissaire, Plon, 2006

[edit] See also

[edit] External links