Barenboim straddles Middle East divide with dual citizenship

The Israeli pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has become the first person to hold both Israeli and Palestinian passports. The musician has been granted Palestinian citizenship for his work in promoting cultural exchange between young people in Israel and the Arab world. Barenboim, 65, received his new documentation at the end of a piano recital in Ramallah in the West Bank at the weekend. "Under the most difficult circumstances he has shown solidarity with the Palestinian people," Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian MP and presidential candidate, said at the recital, held to raise money for medical aid for children in the Gaza Strip. Barenboim said he was "moved and very, very happy", adding that he accepted it because it "symbolises the everlasting bond between the Israeli and Palestinian people".
 
In a pointed reference to US President George Bush's recent comments about Israel's "occupation" of the West Bank, Barenboim, a regular commentator on the Middle East conflict, added: "Now even not very intelligent people are saying that the occupation has to be stopped."
 
The Argentine-born conductor is a controversial figure to many in Israel. However, this is less to do with the sympathy he openly shows towards the Palestinians than for his promotion of the music of the 19th-century anti-semitic German composer Richard Wagner. ·