Il 2009 è l’anno dedicato a Gerusalemme capitale della cultura araba. Ma a Gerusalemme qualsiasi evento che riguardi questo tema è proibito. Daniel Baremboim lo ha festeggiato a Ginevra, con il suo West-Eastern Diwan. Gerusalemme ovest capitale di Israele. Gerusalemme est capitale di uno stato palestinese.
Barenboim said it was fitting that such a diverse group celebrate the Arab League’s naming of Occupied Jerusalem as a cultural capital, even if the choice has angered Israeli authorities who say the entire city is the Zionist state’s undivided and eternal capital.
“The Arab World is not just Muslims. It’s also Christians and Jews,” said the Argentinian-born Barenboim, who moved to Israel when he was 9, but has become well-known in recent years for his outspoken support of Palestinian statehood and criticism of the Israeli state.
“West Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem will inevitably be the Palestinian capital,” he said. “The city is neither Israeli nor Palestinian. It is universal.”