Margalit Tzanani Sued for NIS 3 Million by Former Manager Over Alleged Labor Violations
Yanai Ratpan, former manager of Israeli singer Margalit Tzanani, has filed a NIS 3 million labor lawsuit alleging abuse, forced exclusivity, and unfair dismissal.
A massive labor dispute has shaken Israel's entertainment industry as Yanai Ratpan, the former personal manager of veteran singer Margalit Tzanani, filed a NIS 3 million lawsuit against her at the Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court. The legal action alleges years of forced exclusivity, physical abuse, humiliation, and abrupt dismissal without a hearing after a 12-year professional relationship.
According to the statement of claim, filed by attorneys Sasha Bogotirov and Hila Tibi Musafi, the professional partnership began in August 2011 while Tzanani was under house arrest following a high-profile extortion case involving her previous manager, Assaf Atadgi. Ratpan claims he stepped in when the music industry largely abandoned her, acting as her manager, driver, and confidant while accepting a 25% commission and operating without a written contract due to Tzanani's insistence that it would signal a lack of trust.
Ratpan details an escalating pattern of demanding behavior, including being restricted from managing other artists, working extensively on weekends and late nights, and enduring physical altercations. The plaintiff alleges that in the summer of 2025, Tzanani dug her fingernails into his arm while he was driving her home from performances during heated arguments on Ayalon Highways and the Begin Tunnel in Tel Aviv. The lawsuit also outlines demands for menial tasks, such as carrying her handbag and preparing black coffee with a specific sweetener at every show.
The relationship reportedly deteriorated in April 2026 amid disagreements over canceled performances during a period of shifting security and health conditions. Ratpan claims he was shut out of communications and learned of his termination through media reports, leaving him without his primary source of income and unpaid commissions totaling hundreds of thousands of shekels. Tzanani's legal representatives have rejected the claims, accusing Ratpan of attempting extortion.
