Overview
- The violinist told Tagesspiegel that advocacy for Ukraine enjoys a tailwind while pro‑Palestinian positions encounter immediate political resistance and little space to mourn Palestinian victims.
- He supports a large Berlin demonstration against the Gaza war planned for Saturday, where he and organizers accuse Israel’s government of genocide, a charge Israel rejects.
- Barenboim said many of the pro‑Palestinian artists he sees being cancelled are Jewish, framing the issue as political rather than about identity.
- Addressing the Ghent festival’s removal of Israeli conductor Lahav Shani, he argued the decision was about Shani’s role with the Israel Philharmonic and not antisemitism, and he criticized senior German politicians for saying otherwise.
- Recent cultural‑sector activism includes an open letter from several hundred artists urging Chancellor Friedrich Merz to halt arms deliveries to Israel and impose additional sanctions.