A miracle, one would in light of the middle East conflicts believe: the worldwide respected West Eastern Divan Orchestra is made up of young musicians from countries that are engaged in war. The orchestra with youngsters from Israel, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Spain was formed in 1999 in Weimar. In the following years there have been concerts among others in Berlin, Seville, Rabat, and in summer of 2005 even in Ramallah – a hotspot in the middle east conflict.

A highlight of the summer tour 2006 was the performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony conducted by Daniel Barenboim featuring star singers including Anglika Denoke and Burkhardt Fritz as well as Waltraud Meier and René Pape. The proceeds from this benefit concert will go to the Fundacion Barenboilm-Said and their music education programs in the Palestinian territories.