A rabbinical-style arbitration ruling has ordered Israeli singer Benaya Barbi to pay his former personal manager, Or Marmelstein, about 5.3 million shekels for breach of contract. The arbitrator, attorney Alon Kaplan, found that Barbi canceled the exclusive management and representation agreement in bad faith and breached it fundamentally.
The dispute centers on a professional relationship that began in 2018, when Marmelstein started managing Barbi and helped launch him with hits including "Mamah At Mefachedet" and "Mishehu Iti Kan." In 2021, the two signed a three-year exclusive management deal, but the relationship soon deteriorated. Barbi claimed Marmelstein disrespected him, demanded excessive fees for performances, blocked collaborations with artists such as Idan Raichel and Mosh Ben Ari, and interfered with his participation in the music project "Tzama." Marmelstein countered that he built Barbi's career from the start and accused the singer of trying to cut him out once Barbi became a millionaire.
In March 2022, Barbi sent a unilateral termination notice, citing alleged financial irregularities and improper collection of booking commissions. He also argued that the contract had been signed deceitfully near the time of his wedding, while he lacked legal representation. Kaplan rejected that claim, noting the contract was actually signed weeks after the wedding, and that Barbi's sister, an accountant, negotiated the deal, studied it, and added edits.
The arbitrator also found the financial claims unconvincing. An accounting expert appointed by Kaplan found discrepancies of only 2.2 percent, about 82,000 shekels out of millions in revenue, far below the 10 percent threshold set in the contract for termination. Kaplan said Barbi had effectively planned the split in advance, pointing out that before sending the cancellation notice he had already requested client and promoter lists and had people from his team contact them directly to book shows without Marmelstein. The ruling awarded Marmelstein lost profits, including 30 percent of Barbi's post-contract earnings and royalties, plus nearly half a million shekels in interest and 950,000 shekels in legal costs.
Marmelstein said he was glad that justice had been done and that years of work had been cut short unilaterally and without warning. Barbi responded that, after five years of proceedings, he chooses to focus on the music and said, "I feel I won," adding that he feels "more whole, sharper, freer" and will keep moving forward to the stage.
