Jacques was born in Alexandria , Egypt in 1919. He is one of 7 brothers and sisters who left Egypt to France, Israel and Switzerland. In 1936, Jacques left Alexandria to study Textile Engineering in France. In 1938, with a degree in Textile Engineering, Jacques went to Paris where he managed a weaving mill supplying the top fashion designers of that time including Schiaparelli, Paquin, Patou and Molyneux.

At the outbreak of World War II, Jacques returned to Egypt where he worked till 1950. He then accepted an offer by Bruck Mills to manage one of their textile Mills in Australia. In 1957, Jacques joined a family knitwear mill as a partner in Lausanne, Switzerland where he lived for 4 years. In 1962, Jacques married his wife Esther in London. Later, he worked as a consultant for Sportcraft, Australia. He was a fellow and member of various Institutes, Societies or Foundations dealing with the Textile Industry.

Jacques was a keen and hard worker in the Jewish Community. He was involved with many Jewish organizations. He was President of the Sassoon Yehudah Sephardi Synagogue from 1984 to 1987. He was also a delegate to the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputes and a member of its Jewish Heritage Committee. Jacques sat on the Executive of the Zionist Federation of Australia.

As president of the Yehudah Sassoon Sephardi Synagogue, Jacques acted as if he was the father of the congregants and treated them as if they were members of his family. He offered them understanding, patience, love, sincerity, friendship, brotherhood and compassion. Jacques was involved in all the aspects of the community. To the new comers, he extended his welcoming arms with love and generosity. Jacques was a perfectionist , may because of his engineering degree. He was a good communicator and spoke many languages. Jacques was the mentor of many future presidents of the Synagogue.

On the 25/03/1979, Jacques presented to the Synagogue the 2^nd Sefer Torah which he dedicated in the memory of his late father Yehudah and his mother Adrienne. The Torah originally was from Bagdad and is more than 125 years old. The Torah was one of few which were taken to Europe after the Jewish mass-exodus from Iraq between 1950 and 1951.

Jacques had a vision for the future of the congregation as he was instrumental in purchasing the land in Hotham Street in East St Kilda where the existing Synagogue was built. As result of that, the Synagogue moved from East Malvern to East St Kilda.

Jacques is gone but he will be always remembered in our hearts.