J. C. Halper was born in Newark and raised in Springfield, New Jersey. He studied history at George Washington University in Washington, DC and at Yeshiva University in New York City. He moved to Israel in 1983 and was soon drafted into the Infantry. He opened his bookstore on Allenby Street in downtown Tel Aviv in 1991. When not buying and selling books, he tries to read them. His other obsessions included bicycle commuting and watching professional wrestling. He is married to Rivka and has four children and three grandchildren.