Barenboim: take your piano away from here

Samer Abboud sent me this (I cite with his permission): "I hope that you are well. I just noticed your post on Miriam Said's comments, I hope you do not mind me writing you about this. A few years ago I attended a conference in memory of Edward Said and they showed a film produced by the foundation called Knowledge is the Beginning, or something to that effect. It began with Barenboim suggesting that 'both sides' have made mistakes and that basically they should just shut up and get over it and live together (they were passing through a checkpoint if I remember correctly). I doubt this was intentional by the filmmakers but there was a clear division (to me at least) between Said and the Arab musicians on the one hand, and Barenboim and the Israeli students on the other. I would be very, very surprised and disappointed if Said associated himself with Barenboim's garbage talk about both people making mistakes, etc. It was my first experience with Barenboim and I was extremely unimpressed and a bit sad that Said had so strongly associated with him. The only critical reflection offered by Barenboim during the film was the standard Israeli peacenik bullshit -- the state of Israel should continue to exist but it should be nicer to its neighbors and everything will be fine."