Israel fines New Zealanders for encouraging Lorde to cancel Tel Aviv concert

Lorde’s decision to scrap her scheduled concert in Israel could have financial ramifications.

An Israel court has ordered two New Zealanders to pay fines and damages totalling NZ$18,000 for harming the “artistic welfare” of three Israeli teenagers after the singer canned her show, booked for July 2018 in Tel Aviv.

Judge Mirit Fohrer told Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court that the two women, Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab, must pay out for writing a letter which may have contributed to Lorde’s u-turn.

The teens, Shoshana Steinbach, Ayelet Wertzel and Ahuva Frogel, bought tickets to the show and, in a suit served in January, argued the cancelation caused “damage to their good name as Israelis and Jews,” The Jerusalem Post reports.

It’s considered to be one of the first cases under the controversial 2011 Israeli Anti-Boycott Law, which allows for civil litigation by anyone who can claim economic harm from a boycott against the state. Critics argue the law stifles free expression.

Read the article by Lars Brandle in The Industry Observer.