15.10.23, 10:56 
Message of peace
After the barbaric terror of Hamas, it may sound naive, but it is not: Right now we all have to see people in the other By Daniel Barenboim
The current events in Israel and Gaza have deeply shaken us all. The barbaric, terrorist acts of Hamas against civilians, including children and babies, cannot be justified by anything. We have to leave it that way and keep it going.
Then, of course, the next step is the question: What now? Do we now surrender to this terrible violence and let our pursuit of peace " die" - or do we continue to insist that there must and can be peace?
I am convinced that we must continue and keep an eye on the larger context of the conflict. Our musicians of the West-Eastern Divan Or- chestra, our students in the Barenboim-Said-Akademie, they are almost all directly affected. Many of the musicians live in the region, and the others also have many connections to their homeland. This strengthens my conviction that there can only be one solution to this conflict: on the basis of humanism, justice and equality - and without gun violence and occupation.
Our message of peace must be louder than ever. The greatest danger is that all the people who so long for peace will be drowned out by extremists and violence. However, any analysis, any moral equation that we may set up must be based on this basic understanding: There are people on both sides. Humanity is universal, and the recognition of this truth on both sides is the only way. The suffering of innocent people on any side is absolutely unbearable.
The images of Hamas' devastating terrorist attacks break our hearts. Our reaction clearly shows: The willingness to empathize, the willingness to empathize with the situation of others, is essential. Of course, you must also allow fears, despair and anger - but at the moment when this leads to us denies humanity to each other, we are lost. Every single person can make a difference and pass it on. This is how we change on a small scale. On the whole, politics is in demand.
We must have different perspectives for those who are attracted to extremism.
Mostly it is completely hopeless, desperate people who are committed to murderous or extremist ideologies to find a home there. Education and information are just as essential, because there are so many positions based on absolute misinformation.
To repeat it very clearly: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a political conflict between two states over borders, water, oil or other resources. It is a deeply human conflict between two peoples who know suffering and persecution. The persecution of the Jewish people over 20 centuries found its gruesome climax in the ideology of the Nazis, who murdered six million Jews. The Jewish people had a dream; a country of their own, a home for all Jews in today's territory of Palestine. However, this dream was followed by a deeply problematic, because fundamentally wrong assumption: a country without a people for a people without a country. In reality, however, the proportion of the Jewish population of Palestine in the First World War was only nine percent. 91 percent of the population was therefore not Jewish, but Palestinian, grown over centuries. The country can hardly be called a "country without a people", and the Palestinian population saw no reason to give up their own country. The conflict was thus inevitable, and since its beginning, the fronts have only hardened further over generations. I am convinced: The Israelis will have security when the Palestinians can feel hope, i.e. justice. Both sides must recognize their enemies as humans and try to empathize with their vision, pain and need.
Israelis must also accept that the occupation of Palestine is incompatible with this.
For my understanding of this over 70-year-old conflict, my friendship with Edward Said is the key experience. We have found a counterpart in each other that can take us further and can help to see the supposedly others more clearly and to understand them better. We have recognized and found ourselves in our common humanity. For me, our joint work with the West-Eastern Divan Or- chestra, which finds its logical continuation and perhaps even its climax in the Barenboim-Said Academy, is probably the most important activity of my life.
In the current situation, we are of course wondering about the importance of our joint work in orchestra and academy. It may seem little - but the mere fact that Arab and Israeli musicians share a desk at every concert and make music together is of immense value to us. Over the years, through this commonality of making music, but also through our countless, sometimes heated discussions, we have learned to better understand the supposedly other, to approach him and to find common ground in our humanity and in music. We begin and end all controversial discussions with the fundamental understanding that we are all equal people who deserve peace, freedom and happiness. 
This may sound naive, but it is not: because it is this understanding that seems completely lost in the conflict on both sides today.
Our experience shows that this message has reached many people in the region and around the world. We must, want and will continue to believe that music can bring us closer together in our humanity.
Daniel Barenboim, born in Buenos Aires in 1942, was - until his resignation for health reasons in January - artistic director and general music director of the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden for more than 30 years. SZ critic Joachim Kaiser called him "the last genius of classical music." He has both Israeli and Palestinian nationality. It is a citizen. Barenboim founded the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra in 1999, which consists of half of Arab and Israeli musicians. Baren- boim received fierce criticism from both sides for his commitment as well as recognition.
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