Kassem Nabulsi joined the UCLA Nazarian Center for Israel Studies in 2012 as a visiting lecturer. He teaches alternately two political science courses: a lecture-format course titled “The Arab Minority of the Jewish State” and a seminar titled “Israel’s Conflict of Identities and Its Society’s Identity Conflicts.” Both of these courses have at their core the examination and analysis of the role of identity in the relationship between the State of Israel and its Arab minority as well as the complex interaction between the different segments of Israel’s society.

Kassem Nabulsi received his BA from California State University, Northridge, and his MA and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California; all of the degrees are in political science. Dr. Nabulsi’s dissertation examines presidential power in foreign policy following major turning points in the international system. Within this context, Dr. Nabulsi taught “The American Presidency” course at USC, Pepperdine, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal State Northridge, presented a paper at the Western Political Association, and participated in a panel discussion about the factors influencing presidential foreign policy.

Dr. Nabulsi’s teaching load has expanded to encompass a range of undergraduate seminars and lecture-format courses, including International Relations of the Middle East, Government and Politics of the Middle East, Comparative Politics, International Relations, American Government, Politics and Government in Israel, National Security, Ethics in Politics, Political Ideologies, Politics of Developments, and Public Administration, at many community colleges and universities in Los Angeles.

Dr. Nabulsi’s dormant desire to academically and empirically study the relationship between identity and conflict in the Middle East was awakened by the emergence of Islamist jihadist groups, sectarian violence, and ethnic conflicts in the region. While his diverse background, family history, and personal political experiences informed his social and political identity, influenced his normative understanding of the issue, and served as anecdotal evidence to his teaching the topic, they also helped shift his focus to study the role of identity in Israel’s polity.

Dr. Nabulsi is an Israeli by birth, an American by naturalization, and a Palestinian by descent. A Muslim, who attended Catholic High School and a Jewish nursing school. He worked as a nurse in an Orthodox Jewish hospital in Jerusalem.