Emmanuel Halperin

Biography

Halperin was born in Uzbekistan to a Jewish immigrants parents from Poland. He grew up in France, and made Aliyah to Israel when he was 19. During his Conscription in Israel, he served as a Military Censor. Halperin earned two academic degrees in Law, Literature, and Theatre. As a university student he played in French-plays theatre shows, in an "amateur" theatre called "Bacchus" (Hebrew: בכחוס‎‎; from the Greco-Roman mythology) in Jerusalem.

From 1964, after he completed his Conscription, he started working as a reporter and news presenter in Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Television, and its Kol Yisrael radio. He remained there for over 40 years, consecutively, and became known as one of IBA's veterans. Initially, he began as an IBA's radio reporter in France, and then became a news editor in IBA's French department. Throughout his years in IBA's radio, he served in many positions, among them, foreign news editor, editorial board coordinator, and head of the news division. In addition to his roles in IBA's radio "Kol Yisrael", he later became the foreign news editor in IBA's public Television Channel 1, as well as one of their political reporters. Halperin is mainly known in Israel for his later role as one of the main presenters of the nightly Television News program MeHayom LeMahar, earning him the reputation of a news and culture analyst legend, and making him a culture icon, as well as his presentation of the Saturday night foreign news and culture magazine show of "Ro'im Olam" (Seeing the World).

In late 2003, Halperin retired form IBA, but returned after just few months, for the purpose of hosting a weekly interview show. In addition, from 2006, he began hosting an interview show called "Cafe' Hafuch" (cafe au lait), on the Knesset Channel, conducting interviews from a coffee shop. In 2007, he hosted a quiz show on History, called "Hatzofen" (The Code), on IBA's public channel 1.

In recent years, concurrently to his roles on television, he returned to his acting career. In 2003, he played the role of Socrates in a play called, "Crito", running on "Hachan" theatre. In 2008, he had a role in the Israeli daily soap opera, "Hasufim" (exposed), on Hot TV provider, playing a former Mossad agent, Transportation Minister of Israel, and the father of the show's star Yael Bar Zohar.

Halperin is known as a Francophile, and frequently lectures on France's culture and current affairs, both in academy debates and on Television. In 2006, he ran a musical chansons show called "Daber elay Be'Ahava" (Talk to me with Love), with the Israeli chanson singer Brigitte Haviv. In 2008, he ran, along with another media personality, Alex Ansky, a theatrical-musical show called "Ha'arye Ha'meohav" (The Lion is in love), which constitutes a theatre Arrangement of Jean de La Fontaine's proverbs. In the aforementioned show, he played the role of Louis XIV of France.

On his known nightly news show MeHayom LeMahar, he hosted a regular segment on France's culture and current affairs, via satellite, interviewing IBA's reporter in France, Yaov Talker, on the daily political and culture events there, a segment that coined the phrase: "כאן יואב טוקר, מפריז " ("This is Yoav Talker, Paris"), with a French accent in Hebrew.

Halperin also frequently lectures on media, news and current affairs, the Americanization of the Israeli culture, French literature, and Cinema of France.

In 2004, he received the Sokolov Award for Journalists, for his television role and life work.

Halperin is also the nephew of former Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin. When PM Begin instructed on the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor (Operation Opera), he sent a press release to Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which is subordinated to the Prime Ministers office, in order for the news flash to be aired on the appropriate time. The editor on duty, who thought it was a prank message, threw the paper to the garbage, but when he bumped into Halperin, he showed him the message, and Halperin managed to contact and confirm the news item with his uncle, and thus the news item was broadcast.

Halperin is a widower. His wife was a musical editor in IBA's Kol Ha Musica radio channel. He resides on Jerusalem, in Beit HaKerem neighborhood.