Australian Imam who apologized for antisemitic sermon now calls to ‘kill all oppressors’

An Australian imam who recently apologized for a 2023 sermon vilifying Jews has now called for Allah to “kill all” oppressors, in language interpreted by some as coded antisemitism.

In December 2023, Sheikh Ahmed Zoud said in a sermon recorded at his Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba Mosque in Sydney that Jews were bloodthirsty, treacherous “monsters” who “ran like rats” when Hamas launched its war on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Zoud said in the sermon, broadcast live on the mosque’s Facebook page, that “betrayal and treachery are among the characteristics of the Jews.

“From an early age, they raise their children on violence, terrorism and killing,” he added. “Jews remain Jews. They are not changed by the passing of time.”

Several months after the broadcast, in March 2024, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), alleging that Zoud made derogatory generalizations about the Jewish people and used dehumanizing language, in contravention of the country’s Racial Discrimination Act of 1975.

Following the AHRC hearing and in resolution of the complaint, Zoud and the mosque both issued apologies in recent weeks.

Australian Imam Ahmad Zoud in Sydney Friday Sermon: The Jews Are Bloodthirsty and Treacherous Criminals, Terrorists, and Monsters – Not All the Jews Are Like This, Just Most of Them #antisemitism #australia pic.twitter.com/pbql6KcXzA

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) January 2, 2024

“I recognize that my speech contained harmful, offensive and dehumanizing generalizations about Jewish people, falsely portraying them as inherently violent, treacherous, hateful, arrogant, scheming and collectively responsible for historical crimes and transgressions,” Zoud said in a written apology. “I did not intend to make such a sweeping generalization. I did not seek to harm Jewish people based on their race or religion.”

A separate statement from the Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba Mosque “fully acknowledges that the comments about Jewish people (as distinct from the comments about the Israeli military and government) were not only inappropriate but can also breach Australian laws and offend, insult, humiliate, or intimidate Jewish Australians.” The mosque apologized for publishing the speech on its Facebook page, and said it removed the video when it became aware of the concern.

ECAJ said the “unreserved and unconditional” apologies included a commitment by Zoud not to make such statements again in the future. The representative organization for Australia’s Jews accepted the apology.

“This is a welcome admission of wrongdoing by Ahmed Zoud, and we hope that it will serve as an example for the future about the limits of freedom of expression,” ECAJ CEO Peter Wertheim said then.

However, The Australian has reported that Zoud in recent days issued a public prayer in which he called on Allah to “deal with the tyrants and the oppressors,” asking him to “count [them] one by one, kill them all and leave none of them behind.”

The newspaper noted that while Zoud didn’t mention Jews in his latest comments, he had committed in his apology not to use language that “could be interpreted as targeting Jewish people as a whole.”

ECAJ said the latter speech was “an entirely separate matter” from the prior complaint but expressed concern over Zoad’s continued attacks.

“We expect the terms on which that complaint was resolved to be honored,” Wertheim said in a statement Sunday. “In particular, we expect that Ahmed Zoud will adhere to the undertakings that he has given, and this includes not making or publishing any statement which makes derogatory generalizations about Jews, including statements which attribute to Jews, as a group, characteristics that vilify and demonize.

“If those undertakings are not adhered to, we will have no hesitation in availing ourselves of legal remedies to enforce them,” Wertheim added.

ECAJ has also filed a complaint against another Islamic preacher, Wissam Haddad (also known as Abu Ousayd), over speeches made at West Sydney’s Al Madina Dawah Center late last year. Haddad allegedly described Jews as a “vile people” and a “treacherous people,” and claimed that “their hands are in everywhere – in businesses … in the media.” A hearing for that case is scheduled for next month, ECAJ said.

Australia’s 120,000-strong Jewish community has faced relentless antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The country experienced more than 2,000 anti-Jewish incidents between October 2023 and September 2024, more than quadruple the number from the year before, according to ECAJ.

A wave of antisemitic incidents in Australia has sent shockwaves throughout the country in recent months.

In December, the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was firebombed. In January, the former home of ECAJ Co-CEO Alex Ryvchin was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti, and two cars were set on fire in an attack many believe targeted him. In February, a video of two nurses in a Sydney hospital threatening to kill Israeli patients and saying they would refuse to treat them shocked the nation, and later that month, police discovered a trailer in Sydney packed with enough explosives to cause a mass-casualty event, believed at the time to be intended for a Sydney synagogue.

After left-leaning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won a second term in elections last month, Jewish leaders have expressed hope that he will do more to fight antisemitism in the country during his coming term.