Daniel Barenboim.
In Sunday’s (10/15) Guardian (U.K.), Daniel Barenboim, conductor and co-founder, with Edward Said, of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, writes, “Music is one way to bring people together—we are all equal human beings who deserve peace, freedom and happiness. Events in Israel and Gaza have deeply shocked us all. There is no justification for Hamas’s barbaric terrorist acts against civilians, including children and babies…. And we must urge Israel to uphold international law as it prepares to invade Gaza. But then the next step is to ask: what now? Do we surrender to this terrible violence and let our striving for peace die—or do we insist that there must and can be peace?… In 1999, I formed the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra with my friend Edward Said, so that young musicians from across the Middle East could gather, talk, and perform together. Today, our musicians in the West-Eastern Divan and our students in the Barenboim-Said Academy are almost all directly affected by the conflict…. There can only be one solution to this conflict: one based on humanism, justice, and equality, and without armed force and occupation. Our message of peace must be louder than ever…. Music is one way to bring us closer together.”
