Mlaleo
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 11, 2011
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Imam wa Australia ambaye aliomba msamaha kwa mahubiri ya chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi sasa anataka 'kuwaua wadhalimu wote'.
Sheikh Ahmed Zoud hivi majuzi alifutilia mbali madai kwamba Wayahudi wana kiu ya umwagaji damu na wasaliti, lakini kauli mpya zinazua maswali iwapo anatumia filimbi ya mbwa kuendelea kuhubiri chuki.
Imamu wa Australia ambaye hivi majuzi aliomba msamaha kwa mahubiri ya 2023 ya kuwakashifu Wayahudi sasa ametoa wito kwa Allah "kuwaua" wakandamizaji wote, kwa lugha inayotafsiriwa na wengine kama chuki ya kificho.
Mnamo Desemba 2023, Sheikh Ahmed Zoud alisema katika mahubiri yaliyorekodiwa katika Msikiti wake wa Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba huko Sydney kwamba Wayahudi walikuwa na kiu ya umwagaji damu, wasaliti "wanyama" ambao "walikimbia kama panya" wakati Hamas ilipoanzisha vita vyake dhidi ya Israeli mnamo Oktoba 7, 2023. lakini ukweli Hamas ndio walikimbilia kwenye mahandaki kama Panya haswa. na Waisrael walidhibiti na kuwafukuza na kuwaua na kukamata maelefu ya Magaidi wauaji wa watu wasio na hatia waliotumwa na Allah.
Zoud alisema katika mahubiri hayo, yaliyotangazwa moja kwa moja kwenye ukurasa wa Facebook wa msikiti huo, kwamba "usaliti na usaliti ni miongoni mwa sifa za Mayahudi. Wakati Mtume Mohammad ndie kinala wa Usaliti alioingia na Wayahudi wa Mji wao Khaibar Huo Usaliti upo kwenye Historia za Uislam hata kama utaingia mkataba na Muislam basi lazima akukumbushe huo Usaliti wa Khaybar ambao ulisababisha mwisho wa uwepo wa wayahudi Madina Israel.
"Tangu wakiwa wadogo, wanalea watoto wao juu ya vurugu, ugaidi na mauaji," aliongeza. "Wayahudi wanabaki kuwa Wayahudi. Hawabadilishwi na kupita kwa wakati." wakati Uislam ndio unafundisha watoto kuwachukia Wayahudi na Wakristo.. Kuna Mtoto wa Kiarabu siku alikutana na Mtu akaambiwa huyo ni myahudi basi mtoto alistuka na jamo la kwanza alitaka aone Mkia wa Myahudi maana amefundishwa kuwa Wayahudi ni Pigs na Monkey. Shehe huyu ni Mnafiki sana anageuza mambo vice versa.
Miezi kadhaa baada ya matangazo hayo, Machi 2024, Baraza Kuu la Wayahudi wa Australia (ECAJ) liliwasilisha malalamiko kwa Tume ya Haki za Kibinadamu ya Australia (AHRC), ikidai kwamba Zoud alitoa kauli za dharau kuhusu Wayahudi na alitumia lugha ya kudhalilisha utu, kinyume na Sheria ya Ubaguzi wa Rangi ya 1975 ya nchi hiyo.
Kufuatia kusikilizwa kwa AHRC na kutatua malalamiko hayo, Zoud na msikiti wote walitoa pole katika wiki za hivi karibuni.
"Ninatambua kwamba hotuba yangu ilikuwa na maneno ya jumla yenye kudhuru, ya kuudhi na yanayodhalilisha utu juu ya Wayahudi, nikiwaonyesha kwa uwongo kama wenye asili ya vurugu, wasaliti, wenye chuki, wenye kiburi, wenye hila na kuwajibika kwa pamoja kwa uhalifu wa kihistoria na makosa," Zoud alisema katika kuomba msamaha kwa maandishi. "Sikuwa na nia ya kufanya jumla kubwa kama hiyo. Sikutaka kuwadhuru Wayahudi kwa msingi wa rangi au dini yao."
Taarifa tofauti kutoka kwa Msikiti wa Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba "inakubali kikamilifu kwamba maoni kuhusu Wayahudi (kama tofauti na maoni kuhusu jeshi la Israeli na serikali) sio tu kwamba hayafai bali yanaweza pia kukiuka sheria za Australia na kuwaudhi, kuwatukana, kuwadhalilisha au kuwatisha Wayahudi wa Australia." Msikiti huo uliomba radhi kwa kuchapisha hotuba hiyo kwenye ukurasa wake wa Facebook, na kusema uliondoa video hiyo ulipofahamu wasiwasi huo.
ECAJ ilisema msamaha "usiohifadhiwa na usio na masharti" ni pamoja na ahadi ya Zoud kutotoa kauli kama hizo tena katika siku zijazo. Shirika linalowakilisha Wayahudi wa Australia lilikubali msamaha huo.
"Hii ni kukubali kwa kuyapokea kwa makosa ya Ahmed Zoud, na tunatumai kuwa itakuwa mfano kwa siku zijazo kuhusu mipaka ya uhuru wa kujieleza," Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa ECAJ Peter Wertheim alisema wakati huo.
Hata hivyo, gazeti la The Australian limeripoti kwamba Zoud katika siku za hivi majuzi alitoa sala ya hadhara ambapo alimwomba Allah “Awashughulikie madhalimu na wakandamizaji,” akimwomba “awahesabu [wao] mmoja baada ya mwingine, awaue wote na asimwache yeyote kati yao.”
(Hizo Dua zinaenda vice versa Hamas ndio wanadondoka kila day)
Gazeti hilo lilisema kwamba ingawa Zoud hakutaja Wayahudi katika maoni yake ya hivi karibuni, alikuwa amejitolea katika kuomba msamaha kutotumia lugha ambayo “ingeweza kufasiriwa kuwa inalenga Wayahudi kwa ujumla.”
ECAJ ilisema hotuba ya mwisho ilikuwa "jambo tofauti kabisa" na malalamiko ya awali lakini ilionyesha wasiwasi juu ya kuendelea kwa mashambulizi ya Zoad.
"Tunatarajia masharti ambayo malalamiko hayo yalitatuliwa kuheshimiwa," Wertheim alisema katika taarifa Jumapili. "Hasa, tunatarajia kwamba Ahmed Zoud atazingatia ahadi ambazo ametoa, na hii ni pamoja na kutotoa au kuchapisha taarifa yoyote ambayo inafanya jumla ya dharau juu ya Wayahudi, ikiwa ni pamoja na kauli zinazohusisha Wayahudi, kama kikundi, sifa zinazodhalilisha na mapepo.
"Ikiwa ahadi hizo hazitazingatiwa, hatutakuwa na kusita katika kupata masuluhisho ya kisheria ili kuyatekeleza," Wertheim aliongeza.
ECAJ pia imewasilisha malalamiko dhidi ya mhubiri mwingine wa Kiislamu, Wissam Haddad (pia anajulikana kama Abu Ousayd), kuhusu hotuba zilizotolewa katika Kituo cha Al Madina Dawah cha West Sydney mwishoni mwa mwaka jana. Haddad alidaiwa kuwaelezea Wayahudi kama "watu waovu" na "watu wasaliti," na kudai kwamba "mikono yao iko kila mahali - katika biashara ... kwenye vyombo vya habari." Kesi hiyo imepangwa kusikilizwa mwezi ujao, ECAJ ilisema.
Jumuiya ya Wayahudi 120,000 ya Australia imekabiliwa na chuki isiyokoma tangu Hamas iliposhambulia Israeli mnamo Oktoba 7, 2023. Nchi hiyo ilikumbwa na matukio zaidi ya 2,000 dhidi ya Wayahudi kati ya Oktoba 2023 na Septemba 2024, zaidi ya mara nne ya idadi kutoka mwaka uliopita, kulingana na ECAJ.
Wimbi la visa vya chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi nchini Australia limeleta mshtuko kote nchini katika miezi ya hivi karibuni.
Mnamo Desemba, Sinagogi ya Adass Israel huko Melbourne ilishambuliwa kwa moto. Mnamo Januari, nyumba ya zamani ya Mkurugenzi Mtendaji Mkuu wa ECAJ Alex Ryvchin iliharibiwa kwa maandishi ya antisemitic, na magari mawili yalichomwa moto katika shambulio ambalo wengi wanaamini lilimlenga yeye. Mnamo Februari, video ya wauguzi wawili katika hospitali ya Sydney wakitishia kuwaua wagonjwa wa Israeli na kusema kuwa watakataa kuwatibu ilishtua taifa, na baadaye mwezi huo, polisi waligundua trela huko Sydney likiwa na vilipuzi vya kutosha kusababisha tukio la majeruhi wengi, ambalo liliaminika wakati huo lilikusudiwa kwa sinagogi la Sydney.
Baada ya Waziri Mkuu wa mrengo wa kushoto Anthony Albanese kushinda muhula wa pili katika uchaguzi mwezi uliopita, viongozi wa Kiyahudi wameelezea matumaini kwamba atafanya zaidi kupambana na chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi nchini humo wakati wa muhula wake ujao.
My Take Chuki hizi zinafundishwa wapi? Israel yeye ndie kachokozwa na chuki angushiwa yeye na wayahudi kote duniani...
View: https://twitter.com/i/status/1742115504045584423
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.
“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.
Sheikh Ahmed Zoud hivi majuzi alifutilia mbali madai kwamba Wayahudi wana kiu ya umwagaji damu na wasaliti, lakini kauli mpya zinazua maswali iwapo anatumia filimbi ya mbwa kuendelea kuhubiri chuki.
Imamu wa Australia ambaye hivi majuzi aliomba msamaha kwa mahubiri ya 2023 ya kuwakashifu Wayahudi sasa ametoa wito kwa Allah "kuwaua" wakandamizaji wote, kwa lugha inayotafsiriwa na wengine kama chuki ya kificho.
Mnamo Desemba 2023, Sheikh Ahmed Zoud alisema katika mahubiri yaliyorekodiwa katika Msikiti wake wa Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba huko Sydney kwamba Wayahudi walikuwa na kiu ya umwagaji damu, wasaliti "wanyama" ambao "walikimbia kama panya" wakati Hamas ilipoanzisha vita vyake dhidi ya Israeli mnamo Oktoba 7, 2023. lakini ukweli Hamas ndio walikimbilia kwenye mahandaki kama Panya haswa. na Waisrael walidhibiti na kuwafukuza na kuwaua na kukamata maelefu ya Magaidi wauaji wa watu wasio na hatia waliotumwa na Allah.
Zoud alisema katika mahubiri hayo, yaliyotangazwa moja kwa moja kwenye ukurasa wa Facebook wa msikiti huo, kwamba "usaliti na usaliti ni miongoni mwa sifa za Mayahudi. Wakati Mtume Mohammad ndie kinala wa Usaliti alioingia na Wayahudi wa Mji wao Khaibar Huo Usaliti upo kwenye Historia za Uislam hata kama utaingia mkataba na Muislam basi lazima akukumbushe huo Usaliti wa Khaybar ambao ulisababisha mwisho wa uwepo wa wayahudi Madina Israel.
"Tangu wakiwa wadogo, wanalea watoto wao juu ya vurugu, ugaidi na mauaji," aliongeza. "Wayahudi wanabaki kuwa Wayahudi. Hawabadilishwi na kupita kwa wakati." wakati Uislam ndio unafundisha watoto kuwachukia Wayahudi na Wakristo.. Kuna Mtoto wa Kiarabu siku alikutana na Mtu akaambiwa huyo ni myahudi basi mtoto alistuka na jamo la kwanza alitaka aone Mkia wa Myahudi maana amefundishwa kuwa Wayahudi ni Pigs na Monkey. Shehe huyu ni Mnafiki sana anageuza mambo vice versa.
Miezi kadhaa baada ya matangazo hayo, Machi 2024, Baraza Kuu la Wayahudi wa Australia (ECAJ) liliwasilisha malalamiko kwa Tume ya Haki za Kibinadamu ya Australia (AHRC), ikidai kwamba Zoud alitoa kauli za dharau kuhusu Wayahudi na alitumia lugha ya kudhalilisha utu, kinyume na Sheria ya Ubaguzi wa Rangi ya 1975 ya nchi hiyo.
Kufuatia kusikilizwa kwa AHRC na kutatua malalamiko hayo, Zoud na msikiti wote walitoa pole katika wiki za hivi karibuni.
"Ninatambua kwamba hotuba yangu ilikuwa na maneno ya jumla yenye kudhuru, ya kuudhi na yanayodhalilisha utu juu ya Wayahudi, nikiwaonyesha kwa uwongo kama wenye asili ya vurugu, wasaliti, wenye chuki, wenye kiburi, wenye hila na kuwajibika kwa pamoja kwa uhalifu wa kihistoria na makosa," Zoud alisema katika kuomba msamaha kwa maandishi. "Sikuwa na nia ya kufanya jumla kubwa kama hiyo. Sikutaka kuwadhuru Wayahudi kwa msingi wa rangi au dini yao."
Taarifa tofauti kutoka kwa Msikiti wa Masjid as-Sunnah Lakemba "inakubali kikamilifu kwamba maoni kuhusu Wayahudi (kama tofauti na maoni kuhusu jeshi la Israeli na serikali) sio tu kwamba hayafai bali yanaweza pia kukiuka sheria za Australia na kuwaudhi, kuwatukana, kuwadhalilisha au kuwatisha Wayahudi wa Australia." Msikiti huo uliomba radhi kwa kuchapisha hotuba hiyo kwenye ukurasa wake wa Facebook, na kusema uliondoa video hiyo ulipofahamu wasiwasi huo.
ECAJ ilisema msamaha "usiohifadhiwa na usio na masharti" ni pamoja na ahadi ya Zoud kutotoa kauli kama hizo tena katika siku zijazo. Shirika linalowakilisha Wayahudi wa Australia lilikubali msamaha huo.
"Hii ni kukubali kwa kuyapokea kwa makosa ya Ahmed Zoud, na tunatumai kuwa itakuwa mfano kwa siku zijazo kuhusu mipaka ya uhuru wa kujieleza," Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wa ECAJ Peter Wertheim alisema wakati huo.
Hata hivyo, gazeti la The Australian limeripoti kwamba Zoud katika siku za hivi majuzi alitoa sala ya hadhara ambapo alimwomba Allah “Awashughulikie madhalimu na wakandamizaji,” akimwomba “awahesabu [wao] mmoja baada ya mwingine, awaue wote na asimwache yeyote kati yao.”
(Hizo Dua zinaenda vice versa Hamas ndio wanadondoka kila day)
Gazeti hilo lilisema kwamba ingawa Zoud hakutaja Wayahudi katika maoni yake ya hivi karibuni, alikuwa amejitolea katika kuomba msamaha kutotumia lugha ambayo “ingeweza kufasiriwa kuwa inalenga Wayahudi kwa ujumla.”
ECAJ ilisema hotuba ya mwisho ilikuwa "jambo tofauti kabisa" na malalamiko ya awali lakini ilionyesha wasiwasi juu ya kuendelea kwa mashambulizi ya Zoad.
"Tunatarajia masharti ambayo malalamiko hayo yalitatuliwa kuheshimiwa," Wertheim alisema katika taarifa Jumapili. "Hasa, tunatarajia kwamba Ahmed Zoud atazingatia ahadi ambazo ametoa, na hii ni pamoja na kutotoa au kuchapisha taarifa yoyote ambayo inafanya jumla ya dharau juu ya Wayahudi, ikiwa ni pamoja na kauli zinazohusisha Wayahudi, kama kikundi, sifa zinazodhalilisha na mapepo.
"Ikiwa ahadi hizo hazitazingatiwa, hatutakuwa na kusita katika kupata masuluhisho ya kisheria ili kuyatekeleza," Wertheim aliongeza.
ECAJ pia imewasilisha malalamiko dhidi ya mhubiri mwingine wa Kiislamu, Wissam Haddad (pia anajulikana kama Abu Ousayd), kuhusu hotuba zilizotolewa katika Kituo cha Al Madina Dawah cha West Sydney mwishoni mwa mwaka jana. Haddad alidaiwa kuwaelezea Wayahudi kama "watu waovu" na "watu wasaliti," na kudai kwamba "mikono yao iko kila mahali - katika biashara ... kwenye vyombo vya habari." Kesi hiyo imepangwa kusikilizwa mwezi ujao, ECAJ ilisema.
Jumuiya ya Wayahudi 120,000 ya Australia imekabiliwa na chuki isiyokoma tangu Hamas iliposhambulia Israeli mnamo Oktoba 7, 2023. Nchi hiyo ilikumbwa na matukio zaidi ya 2,000 dhidi ya Wayahudi kati ya Oktoba 2023 na Septemba 2024, zaidi ya mara nne ya idadi kutoka mwaka uliopita, kulingana na ECAJ.
Wimbi la visa vya chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi nchini Australia limeleta mshtuko kote nchini katika miezi ya hivi karibuni.
Mnamo Desemba, Sinagogi ya Adass Israel huko Melbourne ilishambuliwa kwa moto. Mnamo Januari, nyumba ya zamani ya Mkurugenzi Mtendaji Mkuu wa ECAJ Alex Ryvchin iliharibiwa kwa maandishi ya antisemitic, na magari mawili yalichomwa moto katika shambulio ambalo wengi wanaamini lilimlenga yeye. Mnamo Februari, video ya wauguzi wawili katika hospitali ya Sydney wakitishia kuwaua wagonjwa wa Israeli na kusema kuwa watakataa kuwatibu ilishtua taifa, na baadaye mwezi huo, polisi waligundua trela huko Sydney likiwa na vilipuzi vya kutosha kusababisha tukio la majeruhi wengi, ambalo liliaminika wakati huo lilikusudiwa kwa sinagogi la Sydney.
Baada ya Waziri Mkuu wa mrengo wa kushoto Anthony Albanese kushinda muhula wa pili katika uchaguzi mwezi uliopita, viongozi wa Kiyahudi wameelezea matumaini kwamba atafanya zaidi kupambana na chuki dhidi ya Wayahudi nchini humo wakati wa muhula wake ujao.
My Take Chuki hizi zinafundishwa wapi? Israel yeye ndie kachokozwa na chuki angushiwa yeye na wayahudi kote duniani...
View: https://twitter.com/i/status/1742115504045584423
Australian Imam who apologized for antisemitic sermon now calls to ‘kill all oppressors’
Sheikh Ahmed Zoud recently retracted claim that Jews are bloodthirsty and treacherous, but new statements raise questions as to whether he is using dog whistle to continue preaching hate
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.
“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.
