Elie Rekhess
Historian of the Contemporary Middle East
Crown Visiting Professor in Israel Studies · Northwestern University

Five decades of scholarship on the Arab minority in Israel, Jewish–Arab relations & Palestinian politics.

Professor Elie Rekhess is one of Israel's leading experts on Arab society in Israel and the politics of the Israeli–Palestinian arena — a scholar whose work has shaped research, informed prime ministers, and reached audiences far beyond the academy. He now leads Northwestern's Israel Innovation Project, connecting research to real-world collaboration in water technology and sustainability.

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Professor Elie Rekhess
Prof. Elie Rekhess, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Crown Visiting Professor in Israel Studies, since 2013
Tel Aviv University
Moshe Dayan Center, Senior Research Fellow 1971–2010
Government of Israel
Advisor to the Prime Minister's Office on Arab Minority Affairs
Flagship Initiative · Northwestern University

The Israel Innovation Project

Connecting research to real-world collaboration in water technology and sustainability — global partnerships, public programming, and scholarship in action.

Discover the Project →
A Life in Scholarship

The Scholar's Journey

1970
B.A., Hebrew University of JerusalemHistory of Islamic Countries & Classical Arabic
1975
M.A., Tel Aviv UniversityThe Modern History of the Middle East
1986
Ph.D., Tel Aviv UniversityRakah and the Arab Minority in Israel, 1965–1973
1993
Senior Consultant, Prime Minister's OfficeAdvisor on Arab Minority Affairs to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
1995
Founding Director, Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish–Arab CooperationMoshe Dayan Center, Tel Aviv University, 1995–2010
1999
Senior Consultant, Prime Minister's OfficeAdvisor on Arab Minority Affairs; later strategic advisor to Ehud Barak
2013
Crown Visiting Professor in Israel StudiesNorthwestern University
2020
Founding Director, Israel Innovation ProjectWeinberg College, Northwestern University · special emphasis on STEM
The Full Story →
Author & Editor of More Than a Dozen Books

Selected Works

The Arab Minority in Israel — book cover
Between Communism & Arab Nationalism
Book · 1993
Muslim Minorities — book cover
Muslim Minorities in Non-Muslim States
Edited Volume · 2013
Together but Apart
Together but Apart: Mixed Cities in Israel
Edited Volume · 2007
Arab Youth in Israel
Arab Youth in Israel
Edited Volume · 2008
The Islamic Movement in Israel
The Islamic Movement in Israel
Book
Browse the Complete Bibliography — 80+ Works
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A leading historian of the contemporary Middle East.
Northwestern University · Faculty Experts
Lectures, Interviews & Commentary

The Public Conversation

UCLA Nazarian Center
Six Days / Five Decades: 1967 and Its Significance for Israel
Northwestern IIP
Gaza: The Day After
NBC News Radio
The Night Light with Joshua Johnson: What Is Hamas?
Academic Engagement Network
Retrospective on the May 2021 Israel–Hamas Hostilities
All Talks & Media →