Raymond Aghion was an intellectual, political activist, and Communist organizer in Egypt and France. He was born in 1921 in Alexandria into a wealthy Jewish family of Italian origin (see Aghion Family). Active in Communist and anti-fascist intellectual organizations in Egypt as a teenager, he joined with other younger progressives and Communists in 1939 to found the Democratic Union, a legal association and gathering place for young intellectuals. He also purchased al-Majalla al-Jadīda (Ar. The New Magazine) as a forum for leftist political writings and debate, and …