Jacques Hassoun

Who was Jacques Hassoun?

Jacques Hassoun was a French psychoanalyst and proponent of the ideas of Jacques Lacan. Hassoun developed a theory of depression. He also developed a reparative theory of transmission. He wrote about certain pathologies in children of immigrants. He examined the special problems they face in processing and transmitting what is mostly communicated to them through their parents' narratives of displacement, loss and exile. He was one of the first to evoke the heritage of the Jews of Egypt in modern times. He wrote about their history, customs, religious observance, and languages. He showed particular interest in the Karaite community. He traveled to Egypt with groups of compatriots when Sadat made it possible for Jews to visit Egypt. Hassoun wrote several works on the history of the modern Jews of Egypt, among them 'Histoire des Juifs du Nil, "Alexandies et autres récits' and "Alexandries". He wrote eloquently of the culture of the Jews of Egypt and of their disappearance in the wake of Egyptian nationalism. He spoke French, Arabic,and Hebrew fluently.