Azriel Cohen, M.F.A., is a multi-disciplinary artist with an intense passion for the study of cultures and religions, and the creative force behind numerous intercultural projects. He has traveled to 30 countries and specializes in creating innovative environments and programs that bring together communities in conflict.
Born into a rabbinical lineage and raised in Toronto, he is a disciple of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, has a Masters of Fine Arts from The School of Visual Arts in New York, and 20 years professional experience as a painter, illustrator, graphic designer and photographer. Azriel is trained in conflict resolution and holds a diploma in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Roger Fisher's Program on Negotiation at Harvard. He completed a three year training in Somatic Experiencing, a therapeutic system used to resolve trauma in the nervous system that is increasingly being applied as a model to understand the role of the body in global conflict.
After a private meeting with The Dalai Lama in 1997, Azriel founded The Ohr Olam Project – a Jewish educational and interfaith program in the Dalai Lama's village Dharamshala. In 2001, Azriel co-founded Peace Begins With Myself – bringing Palestinians and Israelis to Thich Naht Hanh's Plum Village in France.
He is currently completing his studies in Somatic Experiencing, a therapeutic system used to resolve trauma in the nervous system that is increasingly being applied as a model to understand the role of the body in global conflict.
Azriel's work has been featured in print, radio and television media internationally including Public Radio International's The World (co-produced by the BBC),The Jerusalem Post, The Jerusalem Report Magazine, Tikkun Magazine, New York's Jewish Week, Haaretz, Canadian Jewish News, CBC TV Canada, Montreal Gazette, Plum Village's Bell of Mindfulness (France), Shofar (Hungary), Scotland's The Scotsman, Ynet (Israel), the online magazine Beliefnet. The eleventh chapter of "Holy Cow", the international bestseller India travelogue is about his work in India, and Thich Naht Hanh's book "Peace Begins Here" is about the Israeli-Palestinian program he established in Plum Village.
Azriel was selected as one of 50 international participants to share his work at the upcoming Tomorrow People Conference on Peace and Conflict Resolution in December 2007 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He lives in Israel.