Elie Rekhess (אלי רכס) born 1945 in Haifa, Israel is a scholar of political history of the Arabs in Israel; Islamic resurgence in Israel; the West Bank and Gaza and Palestinian affairs. He serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University and as the head of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation at Tel Aviv University. He is also on the faculty of its Department of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University.
As of January 2009, he is the Crown Visiting Chair in Middle East Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, affiliated with Department of History and the Center for Jewish Studies. As an expert on Arab society in Israel, Rekhess's knowledge covers the fields of Political Islam, Palestinian society and politics, the political history of the Arab minority in Israel, minorities and ethnicity in the Middle East, Israeli politics, and social and ethnic cleavages in Israel. He is also a former officer of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), actively engaged in the combat sector in his earlier years. As an IDF officer he has real-life experience dealing with combating the Palestinian resistance movement, which includes civilians, women, and children.
Education
Rekhess graduated in 1970 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a B.A. in History of Islamic Countries; Classical Arabic Language and Literature. Six years later, Dr. Rekhess received his M.A. at The Aranne School of History at Tel Aviv University specializing in "Affinity to Islam within the Samaria (West Bank) Intelligentsia." cum laude. His Ph.D., obtained in 1986 also at the Aranne School of History at Tel Aviv University, was titled "Between Communism and Arab Nationalism: Rakah and the Arab Minority in Israel (1965- 1973)."
Academic Experience
Research Positions
Since 1982, Rekhess has held various posts at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. From 1982 to 1986 he served as a researcher. From 1987 to the present Rekhess has been a Senior Research Fellow. From 1996 to 2003, Rekhess was the Director of the Program on Arab Politics in Israel (Sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation). From 2004 to the present Rekhess is the Director of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation in Israel at the Moshe Dayan Center.
Teaching Positions
Rekhess has held various teaching positions both in Israel and abroad. From 1987 to the present, Rekhess has been a member of the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. Also from 1987 to the present, Rekhess has been on the faculty of the School for Overseas Students at Tel Aviv University. From 1990 to the present Rekhess has been a faculty member of the Wexner Heritage Foundation. From 2002 to the present, Rekhess has been a Visiting Professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL in the Department of Jewish Studies and History. From 2004 to the present, Rekhess teaches at the Tauber Institute for the Study of European Jewry in the Summer Institute for Israel Studies through Brandeis University. From 2002 to 2003, Rekhess taught at Spertus College in Chicago, IL. From 1990 to 1996, Rekhess taught in the Journalism Studies Program at Tel Aviv University. From 1998 to 1990, Rekhess was a faculty member in the Center for Jewish Studies at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA and Lafayette College in Easter, PA.
Administrative Positions
From 1977 to 1981, Rekhess acted as Director of the Shiloah Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. From 1972-1973, Rekhess was the Acting Associate Director of the Shiloah Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies.
Advisary Posts
Dr. Rekhess has held a variety of significant advisory posts, including Senior Consultant on Arab Minority Affairs to the Prime Minister's Office (1993–1994); Senior Consultant on Arab Affairs to the Histadrut Labor Organization (1994); Senior Consultant to the Abraham Fund for the Enhancement of Jewish-Arab Coexistence (1994 to 2008); and Member of the Board of 'Sikkuy', the Association for the Advancement of Equal Opportunities (1993 to 2007). A regular public lecturer and television commentator on Arab issues in Israel and the territories, he served as a strategic advisor to Ehud Barak during his election campaign (1999) and as an advisor to Science Minister Matan Vilna'i, Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on the Arabs in Israel (1999–2000).
Academic and Professional Awards
From 2004 to the present, Rekhess receives a $100,000 annual grant by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to establish the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation. From 1995 to 2003, Rekhess received a $50,000 annual grant by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to run the "Research Program on Arab Politics in Israel." In 1993, Rekhess received a 30,000 grant for a conference on "ARab Politics in Israel at a Crossroad," by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Selected Bibliography
1. Books and Edited Books 1. E. Rekhess with A. Rudnitzky (eds.), Arab Youth in Israel: Caught between Prospects and Risk. Tel Aviv University, the Dayan Center (2008) 124 pp. (Hebrew) 2. E. Rekhess (ed.), Together but Apart: Mixed Cities in Israel. Tel-Aviv University: The Dayan Center, 2007, 184 pp. (Hebrew) 3. E. Rekhess (ed.), The Arab Minority in Israel and the 17th Knesset Elections. Tel-Aviv University: The Dayan Center, 112pp., 2007 (Hebrew) 4. E. Rekhess, S. Ozacky-Lazar (eds.), The Status of the Arab Minority in the Jewish Nation State. Tel-Aviv University: The Dayan Center, 112pp., 2005 (Hebrew) 5. E. Rekhess, S. Ozacky-Lazar (eds.), The Municipal Elections in the Arab and Druze Sector (2003): Clans, Sectarianism and Political Parties. Tel-Aviv University: The Dayan Center, 79pp., 2005 (Hebrew) 6. E. Rekhess (ed.), Arab Politics in Israel at a Crossroad, Moshe Dayan Center, 102 pp., 1996. (Hebrew & English) 7. E. Rekhess, The Arab Minority in Israel: Between Communism and Arab Nationalism, 1965-1991. Ha-Kibutz He-Meuhad, Israel, 271 pp., 1993. (Hebrew)
2. Articles
1. *add new publication – from arik – The Arab Minority in Israel – An Analysis of the Future Vision Document. American Jewish Committee 2. E. Rekhess, “Under the Shadow of National Conflict – Mutual Images of Jews and Arabs in Israel”. In: H. Bienen (guest editor), TriQuarterly, no. 127 (Fall 2008) 2. E. Rekhess, “The Evolvement of an Arab–Palestinian National Minority In Israel”, Israel Studies, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 1–28, Fall 2007 4. E. Rekhess, “The Arabs of Israel after Oslo: Localization of the National Struggle”, Hamizrah Hehadash, pp. 303–275, Spring 2002. (Hebrew) 5. E. Rekhess, “The Arabs of Israel after Oslo: Localization of the National Struggle”, Israel Studies, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1–44, Fall 2002. (English Version) 6. E. Rekhess, “Islamism across the Green Line: Relations among Islamist Movements in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza”, Policy Watch, The Washington Institute, 33, 23 pp., August 1997. 7.. E. Rekhess, “The Arabs of Israel as a Bridge to Peace: The Evolution of a Concept”, Hamizrah Hehadash, 37, pp. 79–86, 1995. (Hebrew) 8. E. Rekhess, “Resurgent Islam in Israel”, Asian and African Studies, 27, pp. 189–206, 1993.
4. Entries 1. E. Rekhess, “Israel”, The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World,. 2007. 2. E. Rekhess and A. Rudnitzky, “Israel: Arab Population”, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition (Detroit), Volume 10, pp. 728–733, 2006. 3. E. Rekhess, “The Arabs in the State of Israel”, The Hebrew Encyclopedia, supplement volume, the State of Israel, pp. 479–509, 1995. (Hebrew)
4. Other Publications - Reports 1. E. Rekhess (ed.), The Future Vision of the Palestinian-Arabs in Israel, The Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, 19pp., February 7, 2007 (English) 2. E. Rekhess (ed.), The Arabs in Israel and the War in the North, The Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, 14pp., August 21, 2006 (English) 3. E. Rekhess, Arab Politics in Israel and the 17th Knesset Elections, The Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation, 20pp., March 22, 2006 (English) 4. E. Rekhess, Elections 2003 Update, no. 2, The Program on Arab Politics in Israel, 19 pp., January 2003. (Hebrew) 5. E. Rekhess, “The Islamic Movement in Israel: The Internal Debate over Representation in the Knesset”, Data and Analysis, The Moshe Dayan Center, 5 pp., 1996.
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