"Can a situation of occupation and control of another people be reconciled with (Israel's) Declaration of Independence?" Barenboim said at the ceremony, held at the Knesset. "Is there logic to the independence of one people at the cost of a blow to the basic human rights of another people?
"Can the Jewish people whose history is a record of continued suffering and relentless persecution, allow themselves to be indifferent to the rights and suffering of a neighboring people?" Barenboim asked in his speech.
In December, Livnat, who serves as chairman of the Wolf Foundation, originally refused to give Barenboim the prestigious award because he had defied an unwritten Israeli ban and conducted the Berlin Philharmonic playing works of German composer Richard Wagner at the Israel Festival in July 2001. Only when Barenboim said that he apologizes to anyone who might have been offended by anything he had done did Livnat agree to awarding him the prize.
At the award ceremony last night, Livnat responded to Barenboim's remarks by saying, "I want to express my regret that Mr. Barenboim chose to use this stage to attack the state of Israel."
"Israel was founded, first and foremost, as the home of the Jewish people, and it respects the minorities who dwell in it," she said.
"Barenboim deserves criticism, not only for these remarks [at the Knesset], but also for refusing to apologize to Holocaust survivors who were offended when he performed works by Wagner," Katsav said.
"We must be careful not to lose our feelings of compassion, our sense of human responsibility," Katsav said. "In the Jewish state, where Holocaust survivors live, the feelings of these victims must be respected, and the pretext of free speech should not be used to warrant an attack on their feelings," he added.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin had previously decided to boycott the ceremony, in which ten prizes were being presented, due to the award being given to Barenboim.
The Wolf Foundation announced in December that it was awarding its annual $100,000 award to Barenboim because his "dedication to human rights causes and to world peace has helped to bring together individuals of all races and creeds. He is committed to the notion that people can more thoughtfully listen to each other through the artistry of music."
Barenboim, who was born in Argentina and raised in Israel, has frequently performed for Palestinian audiences in Ramallah. He said he would donate the prize money to music education projects in Israel and in Ramallah.
Barenboim is music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and general music director of the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra. In recent years, he has been active in a workshop he helped establish for young Israeli and Arab musicians.
Barenboim told reporters after the ceremony that if reading from Israel's Declaration of Independence and asking questions was provocative, "than I'm proud to be a provocateur."
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