Halpern (Halperin), Israel
HALPERN (Halperin), ISRAEL
HALPERN (Halperin ), ISRAEL (1910–1971), Israel historian. Halpern was born in Bialystok, Poland, emigrated to Ereẓ Israelin 1934, began his teaching career at the Hebrew University in 1949, and became professor in 1963. His main interest was the history of East European Jewry, particularly pinkasim ("registers"). His publications include Pinkas Va'ad Arba Araẓot ("Minutes of the Council of the Four Lands," 1945); Ha-Aliyyot ha-Rishonot shel ha-Ḥasidim le-Ereẓ Israel ("Early Ḥasidic Immigration to Palestine," 1956); and Takkanot Medinat Mehrin ("Moravian Community Enactments," 1952). He also edited Sefer ha-Gevurah (3 vols., 1941, 19512), a historical-literary anthology of Jewish self-defense and martyrdom, and Beit Yisrael be-Polin (2 vols., 1948–54), a collection of essays on Polish-Jewish history. Halpern took a leading part in the work of the Israel Historical Society, and was coeditor of the journals Zion and Shivat Ẓiyyon, publications devoted to the history of Zionism. He was the brother of Lipman *Halpern, the neurologist.