Prof. Rassem Khamaisi
Urban and Regional Planner and Urban Geographer
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Phone: +972/4/8240619; Fax: +972/4/6519540
Prof. Rassem Khamaisi is a full professor at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Haifa. He is an urban and regional planner and geographer. A strong focus of his efforts is aimed towards alternative and counter urban planning, urban geography, water management, besides concentration on public administration, public participation, local government and urban management. He has published in English, Hebrew and Arabic in local and international journals. Prof. Khamaisi received his PhD in Geography (1993) from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, MSc (1985) from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa and a BA in Geography from the Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva (1981). He is a member of various professional international and local associations and NGO's involved in public and environmental policy issues, planning and development. Khamaisi was elected at 2007 as President of the Israeli Geographical Association. He is the manager of a private company (Center for Planning and Studies), which engages in urban and strategy planning and management. Khamaisi has received the "Yakir haTichnun” decoration for the year 2012– a notable recognition of the Israeli Association of Planners. Since November 2013- October 2017 Khamaisi also held the position of Head of Jewish-Arab Center at Haifa University between 2013-2017. Between October 2017 – September 2018, he was a visiting professor/researcher at Queen University Belfast, and the Technical University of Berlin. Throughout his career, Khamaisi has adopted the notion of planner as ‘Initiator’ and ‘Social Changer’. He have sought to combine research with practice in order to enrich both. His focus and orientation is three-dimensional: academic, professional and public service on the international, national and local levels, with the aim of promoting social change, community sustainability and peace building. In terms of peace building he is familiar with various alternative dispute management methodologies.
Relevant Publications:
- Khamaisi, R. (2007), Between Customs and Laws; Planning and Management of Land in Arab Localities in Israel, Floersheimer Institute For Policy Studies, Jerusalem (Hebrew), 69 pages.
- Khamaisi, R. (2017), Obtaining [Spatial] Planning Justice through a Reparcelling Mechanism (Unification and Distribution) in Arab Localities, Haifa: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Israel and Jewish-Arab Center, University of Haifa, Haifa.
- Khamaisi, R. (2018), New Concept in Planning and Development of the Arab Localities in Israel: Readiness of Local Authorities and the State to Planning Reform Implementation. Tel Aviv: INSS.
- Khamaisi R. (2019). The Trap of Urban Planning Development in Jerusalem, Contemporary Arab Affairs, Vol. 12, Number 2, pp. 105–138.
- Khamaisi, R., (2019), Development-Oriented Counter-Planning versus Restrictive Planning in Area C of the West Bank, Palestine, The Arab World Geographer, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 47- 65.
- Khamaisi, R. (2019), Between Place, Man and Religious/Geopolitical Doctrine; Looking ahead to the Challenges of Israeli Spatial Planning, Isteshraf, Vol. 4. p. 34-66.
- Khamaisi, R. (2019), Toward Shaping a Vision for the Development of Jerusalem’s Suburbs: Al-Zaiem, Anata, Al-Ram and Kafer Aqab as Examples, Omran, vol. 8. No. 30, pp. 7-40.
- Khamaisi, R. (2020), Urban Renewal, Rehabilitation and Gentrification in Old Jerusalem, Al-Qasemi Journal of Islamic Studies, volume. 5, issue. 2, p. 65-106.
- Khamaisi, R. (2020), Land registration and parcelation in East Jerusalem: Problematics, Challenges and implications, Al-Maqdesia, vol. 11, summer, p. 113-147.
- Khamaisi, R. (2021), Bab al-Amud Square protests and the conflict over public space in Jerusalem, Al-Maqdesia, vol. 7, summer, p. 15-50.