World renowned Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has taken Palestinian citizenship as a symbol for peace between Jews and Arabs. After a Beethoven piano recital in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, Barenboim said it was a great honor to be offered a passport. “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 was born in Argentina and is a controversial figure in Israel for his promotion of German music and opposition to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. He has also promoted Arab-Israeli cultural contacts in the past decade, alongside the late Palestinian-American writer Edward Said. When US President George W. Bush called for Israel to end “the occupation” during a speech last week, Barenboim took the opportunity to observe that, “Now even not very intelligent people are saying that the occupation has to be stopped.”

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