Edward Said was a true progressive and reading about and hearing the orchestra gave me chills. Music is an international language and this truly captures this sentiment. It was interesting to hear from Tyme Khleifi in the Arts.21 video and how she did not feel that she had a lot of support within her own community because there weren't teachers. It made me wonder if her desires clashed with gender roles in the Palestinian community or if they are lacking music teachers and resources. The Barenboim-Said efforts bridge the gap between people on the Israeli and Palestinian sides in a way that seems to incorporate all the sentiment and emotion without discussing politics. They do stress that is not a "political organization", but reviewers have tried to politicize their efforts. It is difficult not to bring politics onto one's understanding of the Barenboim-Said foundation.
The western-eastern divan orchestra lives in a space outside of the conflict and show that cultural activities are a good starting point for younger generations to come into contact with one anther on a relatively neutral ground. The fact that the project is funded by Spanish organizations shows their attempts to be neutral, but I wonder if Israeli and Palestinian organizations chose not to support them. Either way, it bolsters their political neutrality and reminds me of Grenada, Spain the 11th where people of all religious backgrounds came together through poetry, music, philosophy and other cultural expressions. When reading about the Western-Eastern Divan Orchestra, I couldn't help but place it in terms of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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