Jewish conductor Barenboim takes Palestinian citizenship

World-renowned Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim has taken on honourary Palestinian citizenship, saying he hopes the move will serve as a symbol of peace in his troubled region.

"I hope that my new status will be an example of Israeli-Palestinian co-existence," said Barenboim, who received a passport at the end of a Saturday night concert he played in Ramallah in the West Bank.

Ramallah is a town that Barenboim has visited often, promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians.

"I believe that the destinies of … the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," said Barenboim, who is also music director at the La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.

Former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi said the passport had been approved by the previous government, which lost an election last June. The passport had actually been issued about six weeks ago.

The 65-year-old Barenboim has never been one to shy from controversy.

In 2001, he conducted an opera by composer Richard Wagner in Jerusalem despite protests against the performance of a work by a German accused of being anti-Semitic.

Barenboim, the former music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, has often voiced his opposition to Israel's occupation of the West Bank.

"We are blessed, or cursed, to live with each other. I personally think we have been blessed," said Barenboim.

In 1999, Barenboim established the Diwan Orchestra with Palestinian-American academic Edward Said. The orchestra includes Israelis, Palestinians and citizens from Arab countries.