An Israeli court's decision to order two New Zealand women to pay damages for convincing singer Lorde to cancel a show in Tel Aviv was a "political stunt" that goes against principles of freedom of speech, New Zealand's Justice Minister says.
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Jewish-New Zealander Justine Sachs and Palestinian-New Zealander Nadia Abu-Shanab were last week ordered to pay $US7800 ($A10,963) for causing mental harm to three Israeli teenagers who had purchased tickets to the concert.
The lawsuit was the first ruling to cite a controversial 2011 Israeli anti-boycott law that allows civil action against entities who call for a boycott of the state.
The duo have rejected the ruling, and have instead used the attention to raise more than $NZ34,000 ($A31,320) on a crowd-funding website to support mental health organisations in Gaza.
New Zealand Justice Minister Andrew Little on Tuesday said the court process lacked procedural fairness.
"It's very unusual for a court in one jurisdiction to be making decisions that affect people in a different jurisdiction," he said.
"It does look to me like a political stunt - at least the legislation on which the court was operating was a political stunt - and it should be treated accordingly."
In December, Sachs and Abu-Shanab's letter to Lorde was published by website The Spinoff.
Days later, the 21-year-old Kiwi musician cancelled the performance, which was to conclude her Melodrama world tour.
Australian Associated Press