This diary appeared recently on Daily Kos authored by teacherken. In a way, it reports an important contribution toward progress in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which went much further than Bush’s recent about face concerning Israel-Palestine, that is worth repeating verbatim. My thanks to Daily Kos for its policy of copy right free republication.
It is dated Jan 15, 2008 and for sake of clarity, all else that follows is from teacherken’s keyboard. Daniel Barenboim, by the way, was a close friend of the late Palestinian professor, Edward Said, and together, over the years, they spoke about and worked toward peace and reconciliation in Israel-Palestine.
All that follows is teacherken’s:
I normally stay out of I-P issues, since they engender as much heat as do candidate diaries. I am writing this because of the news content, and so far I have not seen it discussed here.
Daniel Barenboim is a world famous pianist and conductor. Born in Argentina, he is considered by most of the world as an Israeli, one of the triumerate of world-class musicians from that nation (adding in Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zuckerman, and there is a famous performance of the Trout Quintet by Schubert with these three, Zubin Mehta who has conducted in Israel, and Jacqueline De Pres who was married to Barenboim).
Back to the issue at hand. Barenboim has long be concerned with Arab-Israeli issues, and co-founded, along with the late Edward Said, the West-Eastern Divan Workshop and Orchestra, which includes young musicians from Israel and various Arab lands. Thus his decision to take Palestinian citizenship carries some weight.
The story of Barenboim’s action appeared in the English-language version of Ha’aretz over the weekend, in a piece entitled Israeli pianist Daniel Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship. The article, which is brief, is worth reading. In it we are reminded that Barenboim’s openness has previously caused him trouble in Israel: he has been an advocate (as has Mehta) of performing Wagner in Israel, something that is still controversial because of Hitler’s fondness for that composer’s music, Wagner’s own overt anti-Semitism, and the extensive support for Wagner during the Nazi regime – the associations are responsible for a strong feeling of revulsion on the part of many Israelis, and not just the extremely religious ones (and remember, many if not most Israelis are largely secular).
The passport was actually issued about 6 weeks ago, and was present now because of a current recital. After we read that Barenboim hopes that his unusual new status can serve as a model of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, the article fills out the picture with words from Barenboim:
“It is a great honor to be offered a passport,” he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians.
“I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of … the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked,” Barenboim said. “We are blessed – or cursed – to live with each other. And I prefer the first.”
Barenboim goes on to say
“The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible,” he continued.
Barenboim also offered some comments about Bush’s recent visit, including the President’s statement that a peace could be signed this year. The relevant part of the article is in the next two brief blockquotes.
“It would be absolutely horrible if now, with good intentions, expectations are raised which will not be able to be fulfilled,” Barenboim said. “Then we will sink into an even greater depression.”
Though he dismissed any wish to play a political role, the former music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra took a dig at Bush’s strikingly forceful call in Jerusalem last week for Israel to end, in the president’s own words, “the occupation.”
What follows next is something with which I think most here will find some level of agreement, and that is Barenboim’s assessment of the U. S. President:
“Now even not very intelligent people are saying that the occupation has to be stopped,” Barenboim said.
As noted at the beginning of the diary, I do tend to stay out of I-P discussions. I have no idea how this diary will be received. Perhaps it will result in yet another heated discussion, albeit for a change from recent tendencies not on the Democratic candidates and primary contest. I have little analysis, which I can offer. I do think it is a noteworthy story, and am somewhat surprised that it has not received greater coverage in the American media. I learned of it because it was distributed across a Quaker list to which I subscribe. And given how I usually end my diaries and occasionally my comments, I decided that this was supportive enough of that aspiration to take the time to share, whether or not the diary draws much attention.
Peace.