Strengthening Hope During Times of Conflict: The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies Work Between Israelis and Palestinians

OLLI at BCC Distinguished Speakers Series
Sponsored by Kimball Farms Life Care 

Strengthening Hope During Times of Conflict:
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies Work Between Israelis and Palestinians 

Tuesday, August 18 at 4 p.m. ET

Hybrid - In-person and Online via Zoom
$10 for OLLI Members
$15 for non-OLLI members

30 years ago the doors of the Arava Institute opend on Kibbutz Ketura. Since then it has brought together Israelis (Jews & Arabs), Palestinians, Jordanians, Moroccans and other college age students from around the world to study and live together. These past years have been a stress test for the work of the Institute, but it has remained true to its mission. In addition to its academic program, the Institute is the home of a number of Transboundary research centers as well as the Center for Applied Environmental Diplomacy which is active in Gaza. Rabbi Michael Cohen, who has been involved with the Institute since its doors opened dividing his time between Vermont and Ketura, will share firsthand experiences, lessons, and insights from the past three decades.

Rabbi Michael Margaretten Cohen is a faculty member of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. He is also the Director of Community Relations, for the Friends of Arava Institute. He teaches courses on conflict resolution, the Bible, and the environment. Rabbi Cohen has been a Policy Advisor to the Office of the Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, U.S. Department of State and a Speechwriter Adviser to the Office of the White House Speechwriters. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Middle East Peace Partnership (MEPPA) of USAID established by Congress. Cohen, the rabbi emeritus of the Israel Congregation in Manchester Center, Vermont is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in the Middle East and the United States. He has been a regular Torah commentary in the Jerusalem Post as well as being an ongoing columnist in the Jerusalem Post. He is the author of "Einstein's Rabbi: A Tale of Science and the Soul."  He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Burr & Burton Academy,  the Mount Equinox Preservation Trust, KaTO Architecture, and the Jerusalem Peacebuilders. He is a recipient of the Eliav Sartawi Award for Middle East Journalism from the Search for Common Ground.

OLLI at BCC is also sponsored by Berkshire Health Systems