An Israeli legal rights group are seeking damages under a controversial anti-boycott law

Text Selim Bulut

Apparently some Israelis are trying to sue me. I've issued a response. pic.twitter.com/iTq82zCtIZ — justine 🌹 (@precariatqueer) January 30, 2018

Two New Zealand writers who penned an open letter to Lorde urging her to cancel her upcoming Tel Aviv concert are being sued by an Israeli rights organisation, the AP report. Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab, who have Jewish and Palestinian heritage respectively, published an article in The Spinoff last year urging Lorde to cancel the performance, originally scheduled for June 2018. “Millions of people stand opposed to the Israeli government’s policies of oppression, ethnic cleansing, human rights violations, occupation and apartheid,” they wrote. “As part of this struggle, we believe that an economic, intellectual, and artistic boycott is an effective way of speaking out against these crimes.” Lorde responded to the authors in a tweet: “Noted! Been speaking (with) many people about this and considering all options. Thank u for educating me i am learning all the time too.” Lorde cancelled her show a few days later, with her decision praised by Palestinian organisations but criticised by pro-Israel groups. Now, in an extremely regular and normal response to a pop concert cancellation, Israeli legal rights group Shurat HaDin is suing the authors of the letter under a controversial anti-boycott law. The 2011 ‘Law for Prevention of Damage to State of Israel through Boycott’ allows people in Israel to sue those who initiate a boycott against the state, regardless of their nationality, and allows courts to impose damages against the defendants. The group filed the lawsuit in a Jerusalem court on Tuesday (January 30) on behalf of three Israeli would-be concertgoers. They claim that Sachs and Abu-Shanab were the ones who convinced Lorde to cancel and are asking for roughly $13,000 in damages.

Update: Lawsuit is ... real... a stupid stunt but a real stupid stunt. 😂😂😂😂😂😂https://t.co/2PKFGtCqzP — justine 🌹 (@precariatqueer) January 31, 2018

“This lawsuit is an effort to give real consequences to those who selectively target Israel and seek to impose an unjust and illegal boycott against the Jewish state,” said Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the group’s head and a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. “They must be held to compensate Israeli citizens for the moral and emotional injury and the indignity caused by their discriminatory actions.” The law has not yet been tested in court as it’s hard to definitively prove a link between a call for boycott and an actual boycott – but Darshan-Leitner says that, in this case, the connection is clear because Lorde only brought up her concerns after Sachs and Abu-Shanab wrote the letter. If the lawsuit is successful, Darshan-Leitner says she hopes legal agreements between Israel and New Zealand will help enforce any court ruling. Sachs did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but tweeted: “Lawsuit is ... real... a stupid stunt but a real stupid stunt”. Representatives for Lorde have not yet responded to request for comment. Israel has taken measures in recent years to combat the growing BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement, which as we wrote in an explainer on Israeli concert boycotts, is a non-violent international grassroots initiative modelled on the South African anti-apartheid movement. Their demands are the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, the dismantling of the West Bank wall, the Palestinian Right of Return, and an end to segregation.

Here is Nadia and I's statement on THAT situationhttps://t.co/jSu924YNYG — justine 🌹 (@precariatqueer) February 1, 2018