Henri Curiel

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

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 cousin of the famous British KGB spy George Blake.

Henri Curiel founded in 1943 the Egyptian Movement for National Liberation (HAMETU), which became in 1947 the Democratic Movement for National Liberation (HADETU). Following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he was repeatedly arrested 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".

Henri Curiel worked in support of the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) for Algerian independence and was arrested by the French security services in 1960. He 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).

In 1976, Henri Curiel initiated contacts with Israeli and Palestinian representatives willing to negotiate a mutual recognition. Several meetings were organized including among others Issam Sartawi, adviser to Yasser Arafat, and Uri Avnery, member of Israeli Council For Israeli-Palestinian Peace (ICIPP).

On June 21, 1976, Georges Suffert published on the French magazine Le Point an article presenting Curiel as a boss of terrorist networks connected with the KGB. This was apparently based on French intelligence sources.

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 two directions:

• French criminals and far-right activists linked with the Organisation de l'armée secrète (OAS) or with French secret services.
• the Abu Nidal group (which allegedly shot later also Issam Sartawi), possibly commissioned by the KGB.

References

• 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
• 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
• Alexandre Adler at the AJOE Congess, March 6, 2006
• Lucien Aimé-Blanc, Jean-Michel Caradec'h, L'Indic et le Commissaire, Plon, 2006

External links

• The Dispersion of Egyptian Jewry - Culture, Politics, and the Formation of a Modern Diaspora
• Inventory of the papers of the. EGYPTIAN COMMUNISTS IN EXILE (ROME GROUP)
• The silent idealist by Uri Avnery, Le Monde Diplomatique, April 1998
• BASE DE DONNEES SUR LES ACTES TERRORISTES
• Spies Encyclopedia - Blake, George