MELBOURNE: Two New Zealand pro-Palestinian activists have raised NZ$14,000 ($9,108.40) as of Sunday for charity after being fined by an Israeli court for their alleged role in persuading pop star Lorde to cancel a concert in Tel Aviv last year.
Justine Sachs and Nadia Abu-Shanab said last week they would not pay the fine of 45,000 shekels ($12,423.05) awarded to three Israeli teenagers, calling the court鈥檚 ruling a 鈥渟tunt鈥� intended to intimidate Israel鈥檚 critics.
Instead, they asked people to donate money through website 鈥済ivealittle.co.nz鈥� to the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, a volunteer group that raises funds for mental health and women鈥檚 empowerment groups in the Gaza Strip.
As of Sunday, they raised NZ$14,000, according to the website.
鈥淕iven that we鈥檝e actually had this kind of push upon us 鈥� we felt that it was expedient to actually recenter the issue back on Palestine,鈥� Abu-Shanab told Radio New Zealand.
The case arose from an open letter that Sachs and Abu-Shanab wrote to Lorde, a New Zealander, on the website 鈥渢hespinoff.co.nz鈥� in December urging her to call off her planned concert.
Lorde canceled her concert in Israel that same month after a campaign by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) group, which campaigns for Palestinian rights, that included the open letter published by Sachs and Abu-Shanab.