Théo Klein

A French lawyer (1920–2020), Théo Klein presided over the Conseil représentatif des institutions juives de France (CRIF) from 1983 to 1989. Born into an Alsatian Jewish family and a former president of the Union des étudiants juifs de France at the Liberation, he founded the firm Klein & Associés (today KGA Avocats) in 1978 and went on to preside over the European Jewish Congress. A Zionist and a French patriot, he argued for a secular Judaism and an exacting critique of Israeli policy. His books include L'Affaire du Carmel d'Auschwitz (The Auschwitz Carmel Affair) (Jacques Bertoin, 1991) and Le Manifeste d'un juif libre (Manifesto of a Free Jew) (Liana Levi, 2002).