Discrimination costs night club NIS 50,000

A court awarded NIS 50,000 in compensation to a man who was refused entry to a night club because of his ethnicity, the NRG website reported.

Shiran Hai, who has Yemenite parents, claimed that on three occasions he was denied entry to the Terminal club on Kibbutz Ramat Menashe, near Haifa. According to Hai, he was told to “wait at the side” while his wife and his friend were granted entry to the venue. The 32-year-old believes it was the color of his skin that prompted bouncers to bar him from the club.

The alleged incidents happened over four years ago and Hai has fought a prolonged legal battle to see justice done. In May last year Haifa Regional Court ruled that there was not enough evidence to show that his exclusion was racially motivated, but Hai appealed the decision and the court awarded him a large payout.

In their defense, the Ramat Menashe Regional Council and the club’s owners denied any discriminatory policies and argued that Hai was verbally aggressive and that he threatened the club bouncers. In addition, they said Hai’s name was not on the invited guests list on the specified evenings. Hai’s wife was admitted because women do not require an invitation to gain entry and his friend, said the club’s defense council, may have been on the list.

According to the NRG website, the judge noted that this was not the first time the Terminal club had been ordered to pay compensation over claims that its entry selection was discriminatory.