Dr. Ariel received his Ph.D. from the department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University. He also holds a MA in Middle Eastern History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in International Studies from the City University of New York. He is currently the Director of International Studies at the University of Iowa and an Associate Professor of Instruction in International Studies and History.

His research focuses on Jewish communities in the Arab world and Mizrahi communities in Israel. His interests include ethnic, national, and religious identities, migration, and foodways. His publications include work on topics such as the “Hummus Wars,” ethnic identity in Israel, and Jewish foodways. His first book was: Jewish-Muslims Relations and Migration from Yemen to Palestine in the Late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (Brill, 2014).

Dr. Ariel has taught at New York University, Bryn Mawr College and Boston University. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the Association for Jewish Studies, the largest Jewish Studies organization in the world. He has also worked closely with the Culinary Historians of New York. In addition to his academic accomplishments, Dr. Ariel holds a diploma in culinary arts from French Culinary Institute in New York (now called the International Culinary Center).

At the University of Iowa, he has taught classes on the Middle East, Jewish history, and Food Studies, and regularly teaches World Events Today and Designing an International Studies Project for the International Studies Program.