The Arab Minorities in Israel
Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
Political and Fundamentalist Islam
Israeli National Identity
Israel as a "Jewish and Democratic State"
Professor Rekhess (Ph.D Tel-Aviv University) is one of Israel’s leading experts on the Arab minority in Israel, Jewish-Arab relations, Palestinian politics, and Islamic resurgence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.
Until his retirement in 2011, he served as a Senior Research Fellow in the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University, and headed the Program on Jewish-Arab Cooperation in Israel sponsored by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (1995-2010).
As of 2009, Prof. Rekhess holds the position of Visiting Crown Chair in Middle East Studies at Northwestern University. He teaches in the Department of History at Northwestern, and is co-chair of its Middle East Forum.
In April 2010, he organized an International Conference at Northwestern University on “The Middle East in the 1950s – Historical Perspectives.” In March 2011 he organized another conference, titled, “The Shifting Sands of Hegemonic Powers in the Middle East.” Both conferences were held under the auspices of the Middle East Forum and cosponsored by The Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies.
He recently authored, edited, and co-edited: Muslim Minorities in non-Muslim Majority Countries: The Islamic Movement in Israel as a Test Case (2011), The Arab Society in Israel: A Compendium (2009), Arab Youth in Israel: Caught between Prospects and Risk (2008), The Arab Minority in Israel: An Analysis of the ‘Future Vision’ Documents (2008), The Arab Minority in Israel and the 17th Knesset Elections (2007), Together but Apart: Mixed Cities in Israel (2007), The Evolvement of an Arab-Palestinian National Minority in Israel (2007), The Municipal Elections in the Arab and Druze Sector: Clans, Sectarianism and Political Parties (2005), and The Arabs in Israel: A National Minority in a Jewish Nation State (2005). He is currently completing two manuscripts, one on Islamic Fundamentalism in Israel and another on Communism and Arab Nationalism.
Prof. Rekhess has held a variety of central advisory posts, including Senior Consultant on Arab Minority Affairs to the Prime Minister's Office under Itzhak Rabin (1993-1994); Senior Consultant on Arab Affairs to the Histadrut Labor Organization (1994); 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); Senior Consultant to The Abraham Fund Initiatives for the Enhancement of Jewish-Arab Coexistence (1994-2008); and Member of the Board of “Sikkuy,” the Association for the Advancement of Equal Opportunities (1993-2006).