Elaine Mokhtefi

Elaine Mokhtefi (born 1928) is an American and Algerian activist, translator, and writer. Born in New York, Mokhtefi began working as a translator for anti-racist and anti-colonial activist movements after moving to Paris in her twenties. She supported Algerian independence efforts, then lived in Algeria from 1962 until she was forced to leave the country in 1974. Her memoir of her time there, Algiers, Third World Capital: Freedom Fighters, Revolutionaries, Black Panthers, was published by Verso Books in 2018.

Early life Elaine Mokhtefi was born Elaine Klein in 1928 in Hempstead, New York. Her family was secular Jewish, and she described facing antisemitism throughout her childhood. Her parents were not particularly political, though her father at one point attended Socialist Party meetings, and she described her mother as "especially anti-racist."

At age 16, she enrolled at Wesleyan College, a Christian school in Georgia. Mokhtefi rebelled against the segregationist environment, and she was kicked out after a year.

After returning to New York, she studied languages and joined the anti-war group United World Federalists. In 1951, at age 23, she traveled to Paris from New York by boat, a trip that took 14 days, and sought work there as a translator.

Activism Mokhtefi became an anti-racist and anti-colonial activist very early on. In New York, she began working for the local bureau of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic and the FLN. She also took classes at New York University.

Her activism continued in New York, where she has participated in antiwar actions, climate marches, Occupy Wall Street, and pro-Palestinian protests.

Writing During her time in Algeria, Mokhtefi worked as a journalist for the Algeria Press Service, covering news from the Third World in particular.

After leaving for France, she and her husband co-wrote several books on history for young readers.

Personal life Elaine Klein took the name Elaine Mokhtefi after marrying the writer and former Algerian National Liberation Army member Mokhtar Mokhtefi. The couple met in Algiers in 1972, then he joined her when she was forced to leave the country two years later. They lived together in Paris for two decades, then in New York for another two decades until his death in 2015.