Barenboim, Awwad chosen for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize

NEW DELHI,

DANIEL Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad have been announced as this year’s winner of Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for their efforts towards a non-violent resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. While Barenboim is an Argentine-born distinguished classical pianist and conductor, Awwad is an eminent Palestinian peace activist who has been working tirelessly with the people of Palestine and Israel for a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a statement issued by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said. “The international jury of the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development chaired by former Chief Justice T S Thakur is pleased to announce the award of the prize for 2023 to Daniel Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad – two crusaders of peace who have dedicated their lives to promoting amity among the Israeli and Palestinian people through non-violent tools of music, dialogue and peoples’ participation,” the statement said. Barenboim is renowned for performing with and directing some of the leading orchestras in the world. Apart from his musical achievements, he is also known for his relentless endeavour in using music to foster harmony in West Asia.

His friendship and partnership with Palestinian literary scholar Edward Said shaped his vision of a peaceful resolution of Israel-Palestinian conflict through respect, discourse and dialogue. Having understood music and its beauty in overcoming discord and division, Barenboim established the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and the Barenboim-Said Akademie alongside Said to bring together youth from Israel, Palestine, and other Arab and North-African countries in spaces of unity and understanding. Awwad was born in 1972 and raised in a politically-active refugee family. Unable to meet each other while in prison for three years, Ali and his mother undertook a 17-day hunger strike, which resulted in achieving permission for a visit. This success was a watershed moment in Awwad’s realization that non-violent action along Gandhian principles could be the way forward for achieving one’s goals of freedom and dignity. In 2014, Ali co-founded a local Palestinian-Israeli initiative called Roots, promoting understanding, non-violence, and transformation.

His peace building efforts led to the creation of a Palestinian non-violence movement called Taghyeer which was launched by more than 3,000 Palestinians across the West Bank in September 2016, according to the statement. “Taghyeer, a mass independent movement, is dedicated to the social development needs of the Palestinians and to forge a non-violent path to end the Occupation,” the statement said. “The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2023 is jointly awarded to Daniel Barenboim and Ali Abu Awwad for their outstanding efforts in bringing together the youth and people of Israel and the Arab world for a non-violent resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict by fostering meaningful political and humanitarian dialogue, mutual social and cultural understanding, and peaceful public cooperation through the instruments of music and people’s action,” the statement said.