Time to revive this thread, in consideration of the debate raging about Israel and Palestine at present.

While people can argue all day about what's wrong, a number of musicians from Israel, Palestine, and other middle eastern countries are playing music together.

An Arab Israeli orchestra, known as the West-Eastern Divan orchestra was jointly founded by Jewish conductor Daniel Barenboim with the late Palestinian-American intellectual and humanist Edward Said, who was a close friend. It is an initiative which brings together, every summer, a group of talented young classical musicians from Israel and Arab countries.

With respect to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Barenboim has spoken about the need for both sides to begin to understand each other:

"There is no way Israel will deal with the Palestinians if the Palestinians do not understand the suffering of the Jewish people ... now fifty years after that we have to accept co-responsibility for Palestinian suffering. Until an Israeli leader is able to utter those words there will be no peace."