​Ari is a Doctoral Fellow at the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. A recipient of the American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise Schusterman –Israel Scholar Award, his areas of expertise include Zionism and religion in Israel, modern Middle Eastern history, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Ari’s dissertation will focus on the impact of religious politics on Israeli foreign policy. He holds an MA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, as well as a BA (Phi Beta Kappa) in Political Science and Jewish Studies, and an MA in History from Queens College, CUNY. A co-founder of the Center for Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Understanding at Queens College, Ari developed new methods for researching and teaching about the Arab Israeli conflict using the media, visual arts, simulated peace negotiations, and the reenactment of historical events under grants from the United States Department of Education, the Clinton Global Initiative, and the Ford Foundation. A native New Yorker with close family ties to Israel, Ari speaks widely at synagogues, community centers, college campuses, and academic conferences.​