‘Fundamentally Racist’: Sydney Preacher Learns Fate over Controversial Lectures
- Justice Angus Stewart ruled on July 2, 2025, that Sydney preacher Wissam Haddad delivered antisemitic lectures in November 2023 at Bankstown's Al Madina Dawah Centre.
- The judgment arose from a case initiated by representatives of the Australian Jewish community, who claimed that Haddad's speeches breached the Racial Discrimination Act by promoting vilification of Jewish Australians.
- Justice Stewart determined that Haddad’s lectures contained longstanding antisemitic stereotypes depicting Jewish individuals as deceitful and morally corrupt, and that these speeches were sufficiently offensive and demeaning to cause distress and fear among Jewish Australians.
- The judge distinguished that criticism of Israel is not antisemitic but rejected Haddad's defenses and ordered removal of the lectures from online platforms, with Haddad and the centre to pay costs.
- This ruling underscores the court's position against racial vilification, especially amid heightened community tensions following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack and Israel’s response.
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12 Articles
Antisemitic hate preacher broke Australian law, Federal Judge rules in landmark ECAJ v. Haddad case
The court ordered that all three sermons - and any excerpts of them - be taken down from any internet page or publication under the control of the Al Madina Dawah Centre or Wissam Haddad.
Leading Australian Jewish group wins racial discrimination case against Muslim cleric
The federal court ruled that lectures delivered by William Haddad soon after October 7, in which he repeated vicious antisemitic tropes, were likely 'to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate Jewish people.' The Executive Council of Australian praised the 'landmark' ruling
Judge orders Islamic preacher's lectures be removed from social media
A series of lectures delivered by an Islamic preacher at a Sydney prayer centre must be removed from social media under orders from a Federal Court judge who found they contained "fundamentally racist and antisemitic" material.
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