Berlin - The conductor Daniel Barenboim criticized Sunday in Berlin what he termed "outside interference" by the United States, Iran and other nations in the Middle East conflict. The Argentinian-born musician, who is also an Israeli citizen, was speaking in public at a meeting of his West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, an extraordinary group which mixes young musicians with Arab and Israeli backgrounds.
The orchestra was set to perform on Monday in Berlin. Planned concerts in Qatar and Cairo were called off after the hosts told Barenboim they expected security problems.
Barenboim, 66, said interference by outside states was the biggest obstacle to settling the conflict peacefully.
"We have to understand that this is a local dispute between Israelis and Palestinians where both demand the same piece of land," said Barenboim, who has has been an outspoken critic of Israeli policy and declared support for Palestinian rights.
A pianist who is now best known as a conductor, Barenboim co-founded the Divan Orchestra, which is based in Seville, Spain, with the late Palestinian-American intellectual Edward Said.
