Orly Halpern

Orly Halpern is a war correspondent based in Jerusalem, focusing mainly on the Israeli-Arab conflict. A Hebrew and Arabic speaker, she lived in Baghdad and reported for a year during the Iraq war and covered the second Intifada driving her sedan across the West Bank. When she left Iraq she traveled across the Arab and Muslim world reporting on the politics and the people. She has reported for numerous newspapers and magazines from Toronto to Dubai, including the Globe and Mail, Jerusalem Post, Al-Jazeera online, Ha?aretz, US News and World Report, Trends (UAE), Dallas Morning News, Jewish Daily Forward, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Sun, and has been interviewed by all the major U.S. news networks. She is currently working on a book about her year in Iraq and her reporting from the Muslim world. Her web site is www.orlyhalpern.com.

(A)theologies, Politics/LawMarch 2, 2010

Israel Claims Holy Sites, Reignites Religious Flashpoint

By Orly Halpern

Netanyahu’s decision to declare two holy sites located in the Palestinian Territories and once shared by Jews, Christians, and Muslims “national heritage sites” triggers violence and conflict.