Henri Curiel

CURIEL, DE CURIEL

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives.

The Spanish family names Curiel and de Curiel are based on Curiel, a town in the province of Valladolid, Spain. Curiel and de Curiel are recorded as Jewish family names in Spain since the 15th century. Meir de Curiel from Toledo is mentioned in a document dated July 8, 1482, allowing him to conduct commerce in Toledo, Spain; Israel Ben Mosheh Curiel from Spain was a rabbi in Safed in the 16th, after the Expulsion from Spain; Mosheh de Curiel was a rabbi in Constantinople in the 16th century; Mosheh Curiel from Amsterdam was the King of Portugal's ambassador in Hamburg in the 17th century, who in 1639 mediated in the dispute between the Beth Yaacob, Neveh Shalom and Beth Israel congregations in Amsterdam; Jacob Curiel (known as Alexander Nunez da Costa) from Amsterdam, was head of the Portuguese court in Hamburg, worked for King Don Juan IV, who made him 'hidalgo de casa real' ("nobleman of the royalty"), and served as head of the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam (died 1665 in Hamburg); Moses de David Curiel, was well known in the Jewish community of London in the 18th century; Abraham de Curiel was a chief rabbi of Izmir (died 1705); Abraham ben Menahem Curiel was a rabbi in Venice in 1882. In the 18th century, Curiel is recorded as a Jewish family name on a 'ketubbah' from Tunis dated April 10, 1797, of Jacob son of Abraham Curiel, and his wife Palomba daughter of Raphael Shalom.

Cairo

In Arabic: القاهرة‎ 

Capital of Egypt

It is almost certain that Jews settled in Fostat at the time of its establishment in 641 by Arab occupation, and they built their synagogue in the ancient byzantine citadel. In the 10th century Jews arrived from Babylon and founded two communities - the Babylonian and the Palestinian. After the Fatimids established the new city of Cairo (969), north of Fostat, the local Jewish community became the most famous in Egypt. Jews continued to dwell in Fostat (old Cairo) until it was burned by the Egyptians (1169) in an effort to prevent its capture by the crusaders; the famous "genizah" was found in the ancient synagogue of Fostat at the end of the 19th century.

Maimonides, his son Abraham, and his grandson David lived in Fostat. The heads of the Palestinian community in the b. Moses ha-Levi, and his brother Sar Shalom ha-Levi. Persecutions took place during the rule of the Mamluks (1250-1517), who persecuted non-Muslim communities in general and the large Christian Coptic minority in particular. Synagogues and churches were destroyed and closed and fanatical Muslims plotted against Jews for many reasons. It is said that Sultan Baybars gathered the Jews and the Christians under the citadel walls and threatened to burn them alive unless they agreed to pay a large sum of money (13th century). Mamluk rule forbade Jews to trade in spices and other imports from the Far East, and their economic situation worsened. Most of them were tradesmen and manufacturers and a privileged group still continued to deal in money and banking.

Meshullam of Volterra reports 800 Jewish households in Cairo in 1481 as well as 150 Karaite and 50 Samaritan families. According to an Arab historian, there were five synagogues in Cairo. In the beginning of the 16th century, many refugees from Spain came to Cairo. There were two distinct groups of Jews: maghrebim (Jews of North African origin), and Sephardim, each with its own bet din and charitable institutions; and there was occasional conflict between them. The Sephardim surpassed the other communities and were appointed as rabbis for the musta'rabs, who adopted the customs of the Spanish Jews in their prayers. The descendants of the exiles assimilated with the Jewish majority and forgot their Spanish language. Among the great Spanish scholars of the 16th century were R. David b. Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, R. Moses b. Isaac Alashkar, R. Jacob Berab, R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, R. Jacob Castro, and R. Solomon di Trani.

The Turks, who conquered Egypt in 1517, did not interfere in Jewish religious affairs. They badly treated the rich Jews, however, most of whom occupied official appointments, such as the operation of the mint and the collection of taxes; many of them were condemned to death on various pretexts. In 1524 the governor Ahmed Pasha extorted a vast sum of money from the director of the mint - Abraham Castro - by threatening to slaughter all the Jews. However on the day of payment Ahmed Pasha was murdered by a group of his own soldiers and the danger was averted. This day of salvation was commemorated as an annual Purim Mitzrayim (Purim of Egypt). The extortion and tyranny worsened in the 17th and 18th centuries with the decline of Ottoman rule.

Among the sages of the Jewish community of Cairo a special mention should be made of Chayyim Vital from the kabbalists of Safed, Mordecai ha- Levi, Solomon Algazi; and in the 19th century Moses Algazi, Elijah Israel, and Raphael Aaron b. Simeon.

A new era for the Jewish community in Cairo started with the rise of Muhammad Ali (1769-1849) to Egyptian rule (1805). Moses Montefiore, Adolphe Cremieux, and Solomon Monk (the secretary of the Jewish consistoire of France) visited Cairo, and founded modern schools; and after the economic development of Egypt Jews from other Mediterranean countries settled in Cairo. In 1882 there were 5,000 Jews in Cairo and after 15 years, 11,500, including 1,000 Karaites. In 1917 the Jewish community numbered 25,000, among them many refugees from eastern Europe. Jews prospered in commerce and banking and even took part in public affairs and government institutions. R. Yom Tov Israel was appointed to the legislative assembly and Jacob Cattaui became the chief revenue officer of Egypt; his son Joseph was minister of finance (1923) and another son Moses was president of the Cairo community for 40 years. In 1925 Chief Rabbi Haim Nahoum joined the Egyptian Academy of Science.

During early 20th century there were a number of Jewish newspapers in Cairo, among them Mitzrayim (Ladino, 1900), Die Zeit (Yiddish, 1907-08), and the weekly magazines l'Aurore (French, 1908), and Israel (French, 1919). In 1934 there was an Arabic weekly magazine, Al-Shams. The Karaites also published a weekly magazine of their own called Al-Kalim.

In 1947, 41,860 Jews (64% of Egyptian Jewry) lived in Cairo, 58.8% of whom were merchants, and 17.9% worked in industry. Although it contained a few wealthy Jews, the Cairo community was poorer than Alexandria. After the arrests of Jews in 1948-49 and the persecutions of 1956-57, only 5,587 Jews were left. After the Six-Day War this number decreased to about 1,500, and by 1970 only a few hundred remained, especially in the new mixed quarter of Heliopolis. Massive arrests began in June-July 1954; about 100 Jews were concentrated in two camps and fifteen of them brought to trial. In the spy case which ended in 1955, Moses Marzouk and Samuel 'Azar were condemned to death by hanging and others received life sentences. (They were released and sent back to Israel after the Six-Day War.) In 1956 the head of the community Salvador Cicurel left Egypt and was succeeded by Albert Romano. In November 1956 the government confiscated the hospital. After the death of R. Haim Nahoum, Chayyim was elected as chief rabbi in 1960; he left Egypt in 1972.

In 1997 there were 100 Jews living in Egypt, most them in Cairo.

Paris

Capital of France

In 582, the date of the first documentary evidence of the presence of Jews in Paris, there was already a community with a synagogue. In 614 or 615, the sixth council of Paris decided that Jews who held public office, and their families, must convert to Christianity. From the 12th century on there was a Jewish quarter. According to one of the sources of Joseph ha- Kohen's Emek ha-Bakha, Paris Jews owned about half the land in Paris and the vicinity. They employed many Christian servants and the objects they took in pledge included even church vessels.

Far more portentous was the blood libel which arose against the Jews of Blois in 1171. In 1182, Jews were expelled. The crown confiscated the houses of the Jews as well as the synagogue and the king gave 24 of them to the drapers of Paris and 18 to the furriers. When the Jews were permitted to return to the kingdom of France in 1198 they settled in Paris, in and around the present rue Ferdinand Duval, which became the Jewish quarter once again in the modern era.

The famous disputation on the Talmud was held in Paris in 1240. The Jewish delegation was led by Jehiel b. Joseph of Paris. After the condemnation of the Talmud, 24 cart-loads of Jewish books were burned in public in the Place de Greve, now the Place de l'Hotel de Ville. A Jewish moneylender called Jonathan was accused of desecrating the host in 1290. It is said that this was the main cause of the expulsion of 1306.

Tax rolls of the Jews of Paris of 1292 and 1296 give a good picture of their economic and social status. One striking fact is that a great many of them originated from the provinces. In spite of the prohibition on the settlement of Jews expelled from England, a number of recent arrivals from that country are listed. As in many other places, the profession of physician figures most prominently among the professions noted. The majority of the rest of the Jews engaged in moneylending and commerce. During the same period the composition of the Jewish community, which numbered at least 100 heads of families, changed to a large extent through migration and the number also declined to a marked degree. One of the most illustrious Jewish scholars of medieval France, Judah b. Isaac, known as Sir Leon of Paris, headed the yeshiva of Paris in the early years of the 13th century. He was succeeded by Jehiel b. Joseph, the Jewish leader at the 1240 disputation. After the wholesale destruction of
Jewish books on this occasion until the expulsion of 1306, the yeshivah of Paris produced no more scholars of note.

In 1315, a small number of Jews returned and were expelled again in 1322. The new community was formed in Paris in 1359. Although the Jews were under the protection of the provost of Paris, this was to no avail against the murderous attacks and looting in 1380 and 1382 perpetrated by a populace in revolt against the tax burden. King Charles VI relieved the Jews of responsibility for the valuable pledges which had been stolen from them on this occasion and granted them other financial concessions, but the community was unable to recover. In 1394, the community was struck by the Denis de Machaut affair. Machaut, a Jewish convert to Christianity, had disappeared and the Jews were accused of having murdered him or, at the very least, of having imprisoned him until he agreed to return to Judaism. Seven Jewish notables were condemned to death, but their sentence was commuted to a heavy fine allied to imprisonment until Machaut reappeared. This affair was a prelude to the "definitive" expulsion of the Jews from France in 1394.

From the beginning of the 18th century the Jews of Metz applied to the authorities for permission to enter Paris on their business pursuits; gradually the periods of their stay in the capital increased and were prolonged. At the same time, the city saw the arrival of Jews from Bordeaux (the "Portuguese") and from Avignon. From 1721 to 1772 a police inspector was given special charge over the Jews.
After the discontinuation of the office, the trustee of the Jews from 1777 was Jacob Rodrigues Pereire, a Jew from Bordeaux, who had charge over a group of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, while the German Jews (from Metz, Alsace, and Loraine) were led by Moses Eliezer Liefman Calmer, and those from Avignon by Israel Salom. The German Jews lived in the poor quarters of Saint-Martin and Saint-Denis, and those from Bordeaux, Bayonne, and Avignon inhabited the more luxurious quarters of Saint Germaine and Saint André.

Large numbers of the Jews eked out a miserable living in peddling. The more well-to-do were moneylenders, military purveyors and traders in jewels. There were also some craftsmen among them. Inns preparing kosher food existed from 1721; these also served as prayer rooms. The first publicly acknowledged synagogue was opened in rue de Brisemiche in 1788. The number of Jews of Paris just before the revolution was probably no greater than 500. On Aug. 26, 1789 they presented the constituent assembly with a petition asking for the rights of citizens. Full citizenship rights were granted to the Spanish, Portuguese, and Avignon Jews on Jan. 28, 1790.

After the freedom of movement brought about by emancipation, a large influx of Jews arrived in Paris, numbering 2,908 in 1809. When the Jewish population of Paris had reached between 6,000 and 7,000 persons, the Consistory began to build the first great synagogue. The Consistory established its first primary school in 1819.

The 30,000 or so Jews who lived in Paris in 1869 constituted about 40% of the Jewish population of France. The great majority originated from Metz, Alsace, Lorraine, and Germany, and there were already a few hundreds from Poland. Apart from a very few wealthy capitalists, the great majority of the Jews belonged to the middle economic level. The liberal professions also attracted numerous Jews; the community included an increasing number of professors, lawyers, and physicians. After 1881 the Jewish population increased with the influx of refugees from Poland, Russia, and the Slav provinces of Austria and Romania. At the same time, there was a marked increase in the anti-Semitic movement. The Dreyfus affair, from 1894, split the intellectuals of Paris into "Dreyfusards" and "anti-Dreyfusards" who frequently clashed on the streets, especially in the Latin Quarter. With the law separating church and state in 1905, the Jewish consistories lost their official status, becoming no more than private religious associations. The growing numbers of Jewish immigrants to Paris resented the heavy hand of a Consistory, which was largely under the control of Jews from Alsace and Lorraine, now a minority group. These immigrants formed the greater part of the 13,000 "foreign" Jews who enlisted in World War 1. Especially after 1918, Jews began to arrive from north Africa, Turkey, and the Balkans, and in greatly increased numbers from eastern Europe. Thus in 1939 there were around 150,000 Jews in Paris (over half the total in France). The Jews lived all over the city but there were large concentrations of them in the north and east. More than 150 landmanschaften composed of immigrants from eastern Europe and many charitable societies united large numbers of Jews, while at this period the Paris Consistory (which retained the name with its changed function) had no more than 6,000 members.

Only one of the 19th-century Jewish primary schools was still in existence in 1939, but a few years earlier the system of Jewish education which was strictly private in nature acquired a secondary school and a properly supervised religious education, for which the Consistory was responsible. Many great Jewish scholars were born and lived in Paris in the modern period. They included the Nobel Prize winners Rene Cassin and A. Lwoff. On June 14, 1940, the Wehrmacht entered Paris, which was proclaimed an open city. Most Parisians left, including the Jews. However, the population returned in the following weeks. A sizable number of well-known Jews fled to England and the USA. (Andre Maurois), while some, e.g. Rene Cassin and Gaston Palewski, joined General de Gaulle's free French movement in London. Parisian Jews were active from the very beginning in resistance movements. The march to the etoile on Nov. 11, 1940, of high school and university students, the first major public manifestation of resistance, included among its organizers Francis Cohen, Suzanne Dijan, and Bernard Kirschen.

The first roundups of Parisian Jews of foreign nationality took place in 1941; about 5,000 "foreign" Jews were deported on May 14, about 8,000 "foreigners" in August, and about 100 "intellectuals" on December 13. On July 16, 1942, 12,884 Jews were rounded up in Paris (including about 4,000 children). The Parisian Jews represented over half the 85,000 Jews deported from France to extermination camps in the east. During the night of Oct. 2-3, 1941, seven Parisian synagogues were attacked.

Several scores of Jews fell in the Paris insurrection in August, 1944. Many streets in Paris and the outlying suburbs bear the names of Jewish heroes and martyrs of the Holocaust period and the memorial to the unknown Jewish martyr, a part of the Centre de documentation juive contemporaire, was erected in in 1956 in the heart of Paris.

Between 1955 and 1965, the Jewish community experienced a demographic transformation with the arrival of more than 300,000 Sephardi Jews from North Africa. These Jewish immigrants came primarily from Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. At the time, Morocco and Tunisia were French protectorates unlike Algeria which was directly governed by France. Since their arrival, the Sephardi Jews of North Africa have remained the majority (60%) of French Jewry.

In 1968 Paris and its suburbs contained about 60% of the Jewish population of France. In 1968 it was estimated at between 300,000 and 350,000 (about 5% of the total population). In 1950, two-thirds of the Jews were concentrated in about a dozen of the poorer or commercial districts in the east of the city. The social and economic advancement of the second generation of east European immigrants, the influx of north Africans, and the gradual implementation of the urban renewal program caused a considerable change in the once Jewish districts and the dispersal of the Jews throughout other districts of Paris.

Between 1957 and 1966 the number of Jewish communities in the Paris region rose from 44 to 148. The Paris Consistory, traditionally presided over by a member of the Rothschild family, officially provides for all religious needs. Approximately 20 synagogues and meeting places for prayer observing Ashkenazi or Sephardi rites are affiliated with the Consistory, which also provides for the religious needs of new communities in the suburbs. This responsibility is shared by traditional orthodox elements, who, together with the reform and other independent groups, maintain another 30 or so synagogues. The orientation and information office of the Fonds social juif unifie had advised or assisted over 100,000 refugees from north Africa. It works in close cooperation with government services and social welfare and educational institutions of the community. Paris was one of the very few cities in the diaspora with a full-fledged Israel-type school, conducted by Israeli teachers according to an Israeli curriculum.

The Six-Day War (1967), which drew thousands of Jews into debates and
Pro-Israel demonstrations, was an opportunity for many of them to reassess their personal attitude toward the Jewish people. During the "students' revolution" of 1968 in nearby Nanterre and in the Sorbonne, young Jews played an outstanding role in the leadership of left-wing activists and often identified with Arab anti-Israel propaganda extolling the Palestinian organizations. Eventually, however, when the "revolutionary" wave subsided, it appeared that the bulk of Jewish students in Paris, including many supporters of various new left groups, remained loyal to Israel and strongly opposed Arab terrorism.

As of 2015, France was home to the third largest Jewish population in the world. It was also the largest in all of Europe. More than half the Jews in France live in the Paris metropolitan area. According to the World Jewish Congress, an estimated 350,000 Jews live in the city of Paris and its many districts. By 2014, Paris had become the largest Jewish city outside of Israel and the United States. Comprising 6% of the city’s total population (2.2 million), the Jews of Paris are a sizeable minority.

There are more than twenty organizations dedicated to serving the Jewish community of Paris. Several offer social services while others combat anti-Semitism. There are those like the Paris Consistory which financially supports many of the city's congregations. One of the largest organizations is the Alliance Israélite Universelle which focuses on self-defense, human rights and Jewish education. The FSJU or Unified Social Jewish Fund assists in the absorption of new immigrants. Other major organizations include the ECJC (European Council of Jewish Communities), EAJCC (European Association of Jewish Communities), ACIP (Association Consitoriale Israelité), CRIF (Representative Council of Jewish Institutions), and the UEJF (Jewish Students Union of France).

Being the third largest Jewish city behind New York and Los Angeles, Paris is home to numerous synagogues. By 2013, there were more than eighty three individual congregations. While the majority of these are orthodox, many conservative and liberal congregations can be found across Paris. During the 1980s, the city received an influx of orthodox Jews, primarily as a result of the Lubavitch movement which has since been very active in Paris and throughout France.

Approximately 4% of school-age children in France are enrolled in Jewish day schools. In Paris, there are over thirty private Jewish schools. These include those associated with both the orthodox and liberal movements. Chabad Lubavitch has established many educational programs of its own. The Jewish schools in Paris range from the pre-school to High School level. There are additionally a number of Hebrew schools which enroll students of all ages.

Among countless cultural institutions are museums and memorials which preserve the city's Jewish history. Some celebrate the works of Jewish artists while others commemorate the Holocaust and remember its victims. The Museum of Jewish art displays sketches by Mane-Katz, the paintings of Alphonse Levy and the lithographs of Chagall. At the Center of Contemporary Jewish Documentation (CDJC), stands the Memorial de la Shoah. Here, visitors can view the center's many Holocaust memorials including the Memorial of the Unknown Jewish Martyrs, the Wall of Names, and the Wall of the Righteous Among the Nations. Located behind the Notre Dame is the Memorial of Deportation, a memorial to the 200,000 Jews who were deported from Vichy France to the Nazi concentration camps. On the wall of a primary school on rue Buffault is a plaque commemorating the 12,000 Parisian Jewish children who died in Auschwitz following their deportation from France between 1942 and 1944.

For decades, Paris has been the center of the intellectual and cultural life of French Jewry. The city offers a number of institutions dedicated to Jewish history and culture. Located at the Alliance Israélite Universalle is the largest Jewish library in all of Europe. At the Bibliothèque Medem is the Paris Library of Yiddish. The Mercaz Rashi is home to the University Center for Jewish Studies, a well known destination for Jewish education. One of the most routinely visited cultural centers in Paris is the Chabad House. As of 2014, it was the largest in the world. The Chabad House caters to thousands of Jewish students from Paris and elsewhere every year.

Located in the city of Paris are certain districts, many of them historic, which are well known for their significant Jewish populations. One in particular is Le Marais “The Marsh”, which had long been an aristocratic district of Paris until much of the city’s nobility began to move. By the end of the 19th century, the district had become an active commercial area. It was at this time that thousands of Ashkenazi Jews fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe began to settle Le Marais, bringing their specialization in clothing with them. Arriving from Romania, Austria, Hungary and Russia, they developed a new community alongside an already established community of Parisian Jews. As Jewish immigration continued into the mid 20th century, this Jewish quarter in the fourth arrondissement of Paris became known as the “Pletzl”, a Yiddish term meaning “little place”. Despite having been targeted by the Nazis during World War II, the area has continued to be a major center of the Paris Jewish community. Since the 1990s, the area has grown. Along the Rue des Rosiers are a number of Jewish restaurants, bookstores, kosher food outlets and synagogues. Another notable area with a sizeable Jewish community is in the city’s 9th district. Known as the Faubourg-Montmarte, it is home to several synagogues, kosher restaurants as well as many offices to a number of Jewish organizations.

With centuries-old Jewish neighborhoods, Paris has its share of important Jewish landmarks. Established in 1874 is the Rothschild Synagogue and while it may not be ancient, its main attraction is its rabbis who are well known for being donned in Napoleonic era apparel. The synagogue on Rue Buffault opened in 1877 and was the first synagogue in Paris to adopt the Spanish/Portuguese rite. Next to the synagogue is a memorial dedicated to the 12,000 children who perished in the Holocaust. The Copernic synagogue is the city’s largest non-orthodox congregation. In 1980 it was the target of an anti-Semitic bombing which led to the death of four people during the celebration of Simchat Torah, the first attack against the Jewish people in France since World War II. In the 1970s, the remains of what many believed to have been a Yeshiva were found under the Rouen Law Courts. Just an hour outside of Paris, this site is presumed to be from the 12th century when Jews comprised nearly 20% of the total population.

Serving many of the medical needs of the Jewish community of Paris are organizations such as the OSE and CASIP. While the Rothschild hospital provides general medical care, the OSE or Society for the Health of the Jewish Population, offers several health centers around the city. CASIP focuses on providing the community social services include children and elderly homes.

Being a community of nearly 400,000 people, the Jews of Paris enjoy a diversity of media outlets centered on Jewish culture. Broadcasted every week are Jewish television programs which include news and a variety of entertainment. On radio are several stations such as Shalom Paris which airs Jewish music, news and programming. Circulating throughout Paris are two weekly Jewish papers and a number of monthly journals. One of the city’s major newspapers is the Actualité Juive. There are also online journals such as the Israel Infos and Tribute Juive.