Popular Israeli singer Kobi Peretz, who only two weeks ago performed before a jam packed amphitheater in Caesarea, recently discovered that in Israel,
fame and fortune are no guarantee against discrimination.
On Monday Peretz filed a lawsuit with the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court on behalf of himself and 17 other people, against the city's Clara nightclub, claiming that he and his friends were barred from entering the venue because of their Sephardic origin.
According to the lawsuit, last Monday Peretz and his friends ordered a table for 20 at the place, and the reservation was confirmed over the phone. However, when the party arrived at the club, the two hostesses at the entrance refused to allow them in, allegedly because of their Mizrahi appearance.
The plaintiffs said that while they were waiting outside, other fair-skinned visitors had been let in. At some point Peretz tried to talk to one of the hostesses, but she "ignored him and humiliated him in front of other partygoers."
The statement of claim opens with the following words: "The plaintiff is a famous singer of Mizrahi and Mediterranean music. The plaintiff is a Sephardic Israeli of Moroccan decent and has dark skin."
"Even if they had hit me or cut off my hand this wouldn't have hurt as badly as the pain and humiliation that were caused to me that night," Peretz told Yedioth Ahronoth on Sunday. "This is a matter of principle, and when I win the case I plan to donate the money to charity."
The managers of the Clara nightclub said a response would be released once the lawsuit is presented to them.
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