Sam Halpern

Sam is a breaking news desk manager at The Jerusalem Post where he has worked since June 2023. He is a James Madison University alumnus where he graduated cum-laude with a degree in English and minors in Creative Writing and Environmental Studies.

AERIAL VIEW of Supreme Court in Jerusalem

Petition targets newly passed death penalty law, calling it discriminatory, unconstitutional

Knesset approves death penalty for terrorists bill, March 30, 2026.

Knesset approves death penalty for terrorists bill, Netanyahu in favor

Smoke rises after a reported Israeli airstrike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, March 27, 2026.

Israeli air force strikes Hezbollah targets in Beirut for second time on Friday


Israel strikes Iranian nuclear development facilities, Tehran vows retaliation

The IDF said Friday's strikes also targeted an Iranian Defense Ministry site used for the development and production of advanced explosive devices.

A general view of a heavy water plant in Arak, 320 kms south of Tehran, 26 August 2006.

FM Sa’ar urges UN to designate Hezbollah as terror group, calls Iran global threat

“Iran has transferred to Hezbollah  $1.2 billion since the ceasefire," Sa'ar wrote. "It also plays a direct role in training militants and guiding senior leadership.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shows photos as he speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East at UN headquarters in New York on February 18, 2026.

Memetic warfare: US, Iran, and Israel battle for meme dominance and social media virality

Governments are capitalizing on how audiences, particularly younger ones, consume information. 

Illustrative image of an Instagram logo appearing on a smartphone screen.

IDF reservist soldier seriously wounded by Hezbollah rocket fire in Lebanon, military says

Additionally, IDF Arabic Spokesperson Col. (res.) Avichay Adraee issued an evacuation warning for Tyre after identifying Hezbollah operatives launching heavy rocket fire within residential areas.

 A plume of smoke and a fragment of concrete rise from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the eastern outskirts of Tyre, in southern Lebanon, on March 24, 2026.

Trump says US had 'very good talks' with Iran to end war, gives five-day deadline

Trump said he instructed the Department of Defense to postpone planned military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the media before departing West Palm Beach aboard Air Force One, Florida, US, March 23, 2026

Iranian IRGC, Basij units skipping duty as cracks in Tehran's regime widen, ambassador says

"The edifice of this tyrannical regime is cracking. It has not opened up to wide chasms yet, but that's the direction it's going,” Leiter said.

Israeli ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter speaks to the media at the site of the recent shooting outside the Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum on May 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Israel's open secret: Why is Dimona at the center of Israel’s nuclear weapon ambiguity? - explainer

In the 1960s, then prime minister Levi Eshkol vowed that “Israel will not be the first state to introduce nuclear weapons into the region.” The sentiment has been repeated by Israeli officials since.

 A view of the Israeli nuclear facility in the Negev desert outside Dimona, now called the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center.

Israel's Mossad calls on Iranians to share information on Islamic Republic's nuclear industry

“If you have access to information in the field of the nuclear industry, talk to us,” the Mossad wrote on its Persian-language Telegram channel. “With us, your future is guaranteed."

Illustrative image of a Mossad agent standing in front of Mossad vs Iran concept flags on a wall with a crack.

IDF strikes Iranian nuclear weapons research, development facility in Tehran

The facility, which was located inside Tehran’s Malek-Ashtar University, was used to develop ballistic missiles in addition to nuclear weapons, the IDF stated.

Israel Air Force fighter jet seen in central Israel amid the ongoing war between Israel-US and Iran, March 16, 2026.

Trump says US ‘very close’ to goals, weighs 'winding down' Middle East war

Trump specified five objectives that the US was close to completing. Meanwhile, Israel has given no specific indication of when it may decide the goals of the war have been met.

U.S. President Donald Trump waves after landing at Palm Beach International Airport on March 20, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida.