Wissam Haddad is Australia's most vicious antisemite (and that's saying something) 

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) is set to face off in a Sydney federal court against Wissam Haddad, a Muslim preacher accused of delivering antisemitic sermons, in a high-profile case starting Tuesday.

The ECAJ alleges that Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, violated Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act with speeches at the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown, which were later posted online.

Haddad, identified by a former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) agent as the “most important jihadist, extremist preacher in Sydney” and a spiritual leader of Australia’s Islamic State network, described Jews as “vile” and “treacherous” in sermons, claiming they control businesses and media.

As reported by Post, "According to court filings, Haddad described Jews as "vile" and "treacherous" with their "hands in businesses, in the media." In one sermon from November 2023 (viewed by JPost), Haddad quotes Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Hadith Number 176, which reads "towards the end of times when the Muslims will be fighting the Jews the trees will speak the stone would speak and they say 'oh Muslim, oh believer, there is a yahudi behind me, come and kill him.'" This passage is famously quoted in Article 7 of the Hamas charter. Later in the sermon, he says, "Muslims are starving for Jihad, they can't wait to be amongst the mujahideen.""

The ECAJ, led by co-CEO Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot, is seeking court orders to remove the speeches, bar similar content, and mandate a corrective notice on the centre’s social media. The group is not pursuing financial damages but aims to set a precedent against hate speech. “Australia has long been a multicultural success story,” Wertheim said. “We must not import the hatreds and prejudices of overseas conflicts.”

In addition to hating Jews, he also hated non-Muslims, homosexuals, Christians, Hindus, critics of Islam, former Muslims, Western leaders, and the very nations themselves.

He also famously declared that saying 'Merry Christmas' is "more severe and hated by Allah" than congratulating someone for drinking alcohol, committing murder, committing adultery, or gambling.

Haddad, who has not been charged with terrorism-related offenses, has ties to global extremist figures, including jailed British preacher Anjem Choudary. In May, court documents revealed that Abdul Nacer Benbrika, a convicted Australian terrorist, helped fund Haddad’s legal defense. On Monday, Haddad posted on Instagram, vowing to fight the “Jewish lobby” with “everything we have,” alongside an image of a sword, and dismissed the legal system as “Kufr” (non-believers).

The case follows failed mediation attempts through the Australian Human Rights Commission and comes amid heightened concerns over antisemitism in Australia, with the Anti-Defamation League reporting a rise in such views from 14% in 2014 to 20% in 2025. The ECAJ’s legal action points to a broader push to combat hate speech, with Wertheim warning that unchecked rhetoric risks normalizing violence.