The inspiration behind director Paul Smaczny 2006 Emmy Award winning documentary Knowledge is the Beginning.

Named after an anthology of poems by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and founded in 1999 by Argentine-Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim and the late Palestinian-American academic Edward Said, the West-Eastern Divan is a youth orchestra inspired by beautiful music and dedicated to embracing tolerance and understanding in the name of peace.

Comprised of young musicians originating from countries of the Middle East including Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria, the aim of the West-Eastern Divan is to promote understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, paving the way for a peaceful and fair solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Originally scheduled to play Gizeh, Cairo, but cancelled due to political instability this much anticipated concert was moved to an alternative location, the Alhambra (Red Castle) in Granada, Spain; a World Heritage Site built and preserved over a period of social tolerance and cultural flowering, where the three great religions lived together in an atmosphere of acceptance and mutual respect during the Moorish era.