Four Kach members, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Nathan Levy, approached Barenboim, 59, and his wife, Russian pianist Elena Bashkirova, at the restaurant where they were dining Wednesday night in Jerusalem\'s Mishkenot Shaananim neighborhood, Yediot Aharonot reported. After verifying Barenboim\'s identity, the four men started shouting, \"You are a terrorist!\" and \"Go eat with the murderers in Ramallah!\" A few minutes later, security guards evicted the activists from the restaurant. No charges were issued by the police, the paper noted. 

\"We received information that Barenboim was eating in the restaurant with his wife,\" admitted Ben-Gvir. \"I went up to him... he thought that I was a fan. But instead of shaking his hand, we shouted that he is a terrorist. There was no physical violence, but his wife threw a bowl of vegetable salad at us.\" 

Yehezkiel Beinish, chairman of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, said Barenboim \"didn\'t take to heart\" the verbal abuse of the Kach activists. Barenboim said jokingly, \"There is nothing to worry about. I have a strong wife protecting me.\" 

IDF unaware of Barenboim\'s Ramallah plans 
The Kach verbal assault came in the wake of a concert Barenboim gave for Palestinian youths at a private Ramallah school on Tuesday. The Argentine-born conductor and pianist, who has Israeli citizenship yet splits his time between Chicago and Berlin, first announced plans to perform in Ramallah in March, during a wave of suicide bombings. Israeli security forces officials forced Barenboim to cancel these plans as they could not guarantee his safety. 

This time the Israeli army was unaware of Barenboim\'s plans or trip to Ramallah. The Palestinian city, like the other Palestinian-controlled Area A territories in the West Bank, is off limits to Israeli citizens by military order. The IDF Spokesman said Barenboim made no request to travel to Ramallah. Security officials are considering taking steps against Barenboim after he disobeyed these orders, Maariv reported. 

\"People ask me all over the world, \'Why do you need to go to Ramallah?\'\" Barenboim said, after performing Beethoven\'s \"Moonlight Sonata\" before some 200 Palestinian students at the Quaker-run Friends School. \"I say: \'It\'s very simple. I\'m not a politician, but the lesson we have to learn from the 20th Century is that every single person has to think of his responsibility...\' I think what I can do is play music and... for these few moments, we are able to break down the hatred,\" he said. 

Barenboim, who is music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as the Berlin State Opera, was visiting Jerusalem to perform in three concerts of the Fifth International Chamber Music Festival. His trip to Ramallah was reportedly arranged by the German Embassy and he traveled to the Palestinian city in a German diplomatic vehicle. 

Barenboim has always been a controversial figure in Israel. In 1999 he became the first Israeli to perform at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah. Last year, conducting the Berlin Philharmonic at the Israel Festival in Jerusalem, Barenboim broke an Israeli taboo and added an encore by Richard Wagner - Hitler\'s favorite composer. After asking the audience for permission to play the Wagner piece, he went ahead anyway. A bitter argument ensued, in which protesters were asked by audience members to leave the auditorium. Afterwards, some Israeli politicians branded Barenboim a cultural persona non grata. 

Interior Minister petitioned to revoke Barenboim\'s citizenship 
Pini Badash, head of the Omer Council, called on Interior Minister Eli Yishai to immediately revoke Barenboim\'s Israeli citizenship and began gathering signatures on a petition to that effect, Maariv reported. Badash said he saw Barenboim\'s concert on television. 

\"An Israeli citizen who spends most of his years overseas and then abuses his Israeli citizenship to hurt the interests of the State, is not worthy of this citizenship, and it should be revoked,\" Badash charged. 

Avi Farhan, a member of the Likud Party\'s central committee and one of the leaders of Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip, filed a complaint with the Israel Police against Barenboim\'s disobeying the military orders prohibiting Israeli citizens from entering the Palestinian territories. 

Last week, Barenboim and U.S.-based Palestinian writer and critic Edward Said were named the winners of Spain\'s Prince of Asturias Concord Prize for their efforts toward bringing peace to the Middle East. The working relationship between Barenboim and Said has led to the establishment of the West Eastern Divan, a workshop for budding musicians from the Middle East. The project unites young people through music, setting up orchestras where Palestinian, Israeli, Syrian, Lebanese, Egyptian, and other musicians all perform together.