Lakemba cleric apologises for antisemitic sermon, but doubts over sincerity

An extremist cleric who preached that Jews were “bloodthirsty monsters” who “ran like rats” during the October 7 Hamas attacks has issued a formal apology following a racial vilification complaint lodged by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).

Sheikh Ahmed Zoud (also reported as Ahmed Zod) delivered the controversial sermon in December 2023 at the Masjid As-Sunnah mosque in Lakemba, prompting the ECAJ, Australia’s peak Jewish representative body, to file a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission under Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act.

In that sermon, delivered in Arabic and later posted to social media, Sheikh Zoud said: “These (people) are the Jews, not all of them, but most of them. The most important characteristic of the Jews is that they are thirsty for bloodshed … another is betrayal and treachery.” He also claimed Jews “loved to shed blood” and raised their children on “violence, terrorism and killing.”

In a written apology signed April 23 and supported by a verbal apology in Arabic posted to his Facebook page, Sheikh Zoud stated: “I deeply regret the way I framed my comments and understand how they could be interpreted as targeting Jewish people as a whole. I did not seek to harm Jewish people based on their race or religion… This is not an excuse but an explanation to hopefully assure you that I will not repeat these comments.”

The apology was addressed specifically to ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim, Deputy President Robert Goot SC, and the Australian Jewish community. A formal resolution was reached through the Human Rights Commission process, which included a binding undertaking from Zoud not to repeat such statements in the future.

ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim welcomed the resolution of the complaint, stating:

“This is a welcome admission of wrong-doing by Ahmed Zod and we hope that it will serve as an example for the future about the limits of freedom of expression… In Australia, that freedom does not extend to the public vilification of people who come from a different ethnic background or choose to follow a different faith, or no faith.”

“Among our citizens, we have people from dozens of different ethnic and religious backgrounds, many of whose families migrated to Australia to escape persecution based solely on that identity.”

Wertheim continued:

“We hope that the resolution of this complaint will serve as a reaffirmation of the principle that Australia is a safe place for people of all backgrounds, and no place for the kind of immoderate and at times antisemitic rhetoric that we have witnessed in recent times.”

In addition to Zoud’s personal apologies, the Sunnah Foundation and Masjid As-Sunnah also issued a formal written apology, posted on their Facebook page. The statement read:

“We fully acknowledge that the comments about Jewish people… were not only inappropriate but can also breach Australian laws and offend, insult, humiliate, or intimidate Jewish Australians, and we deeply regret that the speech was published on the MAS Facebook page.”

However, concerns have resurfaced following a new sermon delivered by Zoud last Friday. In that speech, also in Arabic, he prayed for divine retribution against unnamed oppressors, saying: “Oh Allah, count them one by one, kill them all, and leave none of them behind.” While Jews were not mentioned explicitly, the rhetoric closely mirrors past language that led to the original complaint.

Wertheim made clear that the agreement requires strict adherence to the apology terms and warns that similar future conduct may trigger legal action.

This case is part of a broader legal push by the ECAJ against extremist rhetoric. The Council is also pursuing action in the Federal Court against Bankstown preacher Wissam Haddad, who has refused to apologise for sermons that include antisemitic slurs and apocalyptic references to killing Jews. That case is scheduled for hearing on June 10.