Latest news with #Wertheim
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Made a mess of Gaza': Hamas can ‘end the war tomorrow' if they release remaining hostages
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-CEO Peter Wertheim says terrorist group Hamas can 'end the war tomorrow' if they lay down their arms and release the hostages. 'Hamas planned and started the war, they have lost the war, their leaders are dead,' Mr Wertheim told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'They have made a mess of Gaza, they have ruined the lives of the Palestinians in Gaza with the war they started. 'And they can end the war tomorrow by releasing the hostages and laying down their arms.'
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Israel's strikes on Damascus were to ‘protect their Druze brethren in Syria'
Executive Council of Australian Jewry Co-CEO Peter Wertheim defends Israel's strikes on Damascus, citing the protection of the Druze community. 'It has a context, you can't just judge international political conflicts on the basis of superficial images that are propagated by social media,' Mr Wertheim told Sky News host Danica De Giorgio. 'For much of its history, the majority Suni population mistreated a lot of these minority groups in a very severe way. 'With the fall of the Assad regime and the takeover of Syria by a former Islamic State Al-Qaeda terrorist leader. 'Things have reverted back to what they traditionally were …. Israel has come in … and they have demanded action to protect their Druze brethren in Syria.'
Sky News AU
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Hate preaching can't hide from the law': Australian Jewish leaders hail Wissam Haddad racial discrimination verdict
Prominent Australian Jewish leaders have hailed a landmark Federal Court ruling against a Sydney-based Islamic preacher, with an association president saying he was pleased to see a particular type of 'hate preaching' being dealt with by the law. Islamic cleric Wissam Haddad was found by the court on Tuesday to have breached Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act for remarks he made in a series of sermons. It was alleged Mr Haddad had referred to Jewish people as 'vile' and 'treacherous' and the descendants of 'pigs and monkeys,' prompting the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) to bring the case against him. Australian Jewish Association President David Adler told Sky News on Tuesday evening that though he was 'not great a fan' of Section 18C of the act, he was pleased to see the Federal Court verdict. 'It'd be much better than the alternative and we are pleased that this particular type of hate preaching can't hide from the law, calling on Islamic radical ideology,' he said. 'I don't see (Section 18C) as curing antisemitism, we think that there are some bigger issues that need to be addressed, but here's a win.' ECAJ co-chief executive Peter Wertheim spoke to reporters outside the court on Tuesday, where he said the action against Mr Haddad was taken 'to defend the safety and honor' of the Jewish community. He told Sky News later on Tuesday that the body had received an 'avalanche of congratulatory messages' from across Australia from both Jewish and non-Jewish people after the ruling. Mr Haddad had claimed his controversial remarks were drawn from, or made in reference to, Islamic scripture, but Mr Wertheim said expert evidence presented in the case suggested otherwise. 'All of the expert evidence in the case, including from Mr Haddad's own expert on Islam, was that Islam does not justify the wholesale vilification of the Jewish people. So it's wrong to characterise those sort of sentiments as being Islamic,' he said. The ECAJ co-chief executive said he believed pursuing the case had been important for a number of reasons and insisted 'a line in the sand had to be drawn'. 'We were seeing in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel an upsurge of antisemitism in different parts of the world, including in Australia, and including from some sectors of Australian society that hold themselves out as champions of human rights,' Mr Wertheim said.
Sky News AU
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘No alternative': Jewish body wins landmark case against jihadi preacher Wissam Haddad in Federal Court
Jewish groups are celebrating after Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad lost a racial discrimination case in the Federal Court. The Court found the Sydney-based Islamic cleric breached 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act after a Jewish organisation sought legal action, citing inaction by Australia's 'responsible authorities'. Mr Haddad called Jewish people the descendants of 'pigs and monkeys' who would drown if people spat on Israel. In November 2023, NSW Police and the Australian Federal Police investigated Mr Haddad's sermons, but decided not to lay charges. On Tuesday, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) won its case against Mr Haddad, also known as Abu Ousayd, after Justice Angus Stewart found his series of lectures called 'The Jews of Al Madina' contained remarks which were 'reasonably likely to offend, insult, humiliate and intimidate' Australian Jews. 'They make perverse generalisations against Jewish people as a group,' he said. 'The imputations include age-old tropes against Jewish people that are fundamentally racist and antisemitic … Jews in Australia in November 2023, and there after, would expererience them to be harassing and intimidating.' The Islamic cleric was ordered to have three of his speeches removed from social media and to cover ECAJ's legal fees. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim condemned the series of speeches given by Mr Haddad and said the case was not about the freedom of expression or religious freedom, but the abuse of such freedoms to promote antisemitism. Mr Wertheim said he decided to take action against Mr Haddad after it became evident Australia's responsible authorities would not act to protect the vulnerable members of the Jewish community from 'hate-mongering, threats and violence'. 'We decided that we had no alternative but to take action ourselves so as to defend the safety and honour of our community,' Mr Wertheim said in a statement following the ruling. Mr Wertheim said people were free to engage in robust debate about international conflicts - whether true or false, informed or ignorant - but a line had to be drawn. 'But that does not include the freedom to mobilise racism as a polemical tool to promote one's views – to dehumanise and vilify entire communities or individuals on the basis of their racial, ethnic or ethno-religious identity,' he said. Mr Wertheim said the judgement demonstrated with 'crystal clarity' that when common decency is lacking, the law will 'draw the line' for the Jewish community. The Islamic preacher's lawyer, Elia Tabchouri of Macquarie Law Group, told reporters outside the court his client maintained that his sermons were delivered in the context of 'religious instruction' which were 'never intended' to cause offence. 'The words he spoke were those from the scripture and he maintains that he has the right to quote religious scripture, as all parties do, the court has found he has that right,' he said. 'Further to that, the court has found that simply criticising what the Israeli nation has done in Gaza is not antisemitic, and that position has been affirmed by the court.' The landmark case marks the first time an Islamic preacher has been taken to court for antisemitism.
The Advertiser
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Jewish leaders 'let down' in fight with Muslim preacher
Leaders for the nation's peak Jewish representative body claim they were left with no choice but to sue an Islamist preacher after he referred to Jews as "vile" and "treacherous". Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot launched legal action over a fiery series of sermons in November 2023. The speeches, which amassed thousands of views online, were delivered by Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who referred to Jewish people as "vile", "treacherous" and "murderous". By suing the preacher, Mr Wertheim said he and Mr Goot had been able to achieve something no government, law enforcement, or human rights agency had managed. "We have finally brought to account someone who despises Australia's way of life," he said outside the Federal Court on Friday. "This case is a test of whether rank anti-Semitism, whichever way it might be dressed up, falls into the category of views that members of the community are now expected to put up with." Justice Angus Stewart has reserved his decision on whether the preacher's speeches constitute racial discrimination. Mr Wertheim said they had been left with no alternative than to defend the honour of the Australian Jewish community after the law failed to protect them. "It's a tragedy when our institutions fail us and citizens are left to fend for themselves, by having to pursue a private remedy for a public wrong," he said. Mr Haddad argued his speeches were not racist because they were historical and religious lectures delivered to his Muslim congregation to contextualise the war in Gaza. His lawyer Andrew Boe said he had been quoting Islamic texts so ruling in favour of the two Jewish plaintiffs would be the equivalent of prohibiting the recitation of religious material. "He may be a very bad preacher," he said. "That doesn't mean what he's saying about Islam doesn't fall within (the protections for freedom of religious expression)." The preacher confined his comments outside court to an exhortation to "Free Palestine" and an assurance he would respect the court ruling when it is handed down. Mr Wertheim and Mr Goot are seeking the removal of the published speeches, a public corrective notice and an order restraining Mr Haddad making similar comments in future. Mr Goot said outside court the measures sought against Mr Haddad did not seek to interfere with his freedom of speech except in a "very confined" manner. "What Mr Haddad said and did in the series of speeches he made was utterly unacceptable, un-Australian and - we hope the court will find - unlawful," he said. His barrister told the court the preacher had a pattern of offensive conduct towards other religious groups and had not apologised for the speeches. But the Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric said during the hearing he "never set out to insult Jews". Mr Boe argued the allegedly racist lectures were selectively edited and would not have been seen by Jewish people if not reported in the media. Mr Haddad's speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The reporting of the event prompted queries and concerns from Mr Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told. Leaders for the nation's peak Jewish representative body claim they were left with no choice but to sue an Islamist preacher after he referred to Jews as "vile" and "treacherous". Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot launched legal action over a fiery series of sermons in November 2023. The speeches, which amassed thousands of views online, were delivered by Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who referred to Jewish people as "vile", "treacherous" and "murderous". By suing the preacher, Mr Wertheim said he and Mr Goot had been able to achieve something no government, law enforcement, or human rights agency had managed. "We have finally brought to account someone who despises Australia's way of life," he said outside the Federal Court on Friday. "This case is a test of whether rank anti-Semitism, whichever way it might be dressed up, falls into the category of views that members of the community are now expected to put up with." Justice Angus Stewart has reserved his decision on whether the preacher's speeches constitute racial discrimination. Mr Wertheim said they had been left with no alternative than to defend the honour of the Australian Jewish community after the law failed to protect them. "It's a tragedy when our institutions fail us and citizens are left to fend for themselves, by having to pursue a private remedy for a public wrong," he said. Mr Haddad argued his speeches were not racist because they were historical and religious lectures delivered to his Muslim congregation to contextualise the war in Gaza. His lawyer Andrew Boe said he had been quoting Islamic texts so ruling in favour of the two Jewish plaintiffs would be the equivalent of prohibiting the recitation of religious material. "He may be a very bad preacher," he said. "That doesn't mean what he's saying about Islam doesn't fall within (the protections for freedom of religious expression)." The preacher confined his comments outside court to an exhortation to "Free Palestine" and an assurance he would respect the court ruling when it is handed down. Mr Wertheim and Mr Goot are seeking the removal of the published speeches, a public corrective notice and an order restraining Mr Haddad making similar comments in future. Mr Goot said outside court the measures sought against Mr Haddad did not seek to interfere with his freedom of speech except in a "very confined" manner. "What Mr Haddad said and did in the series of speeches he made was utterly unacceptable, un-Australian and - we hope the court will find - unlawful," he said. His barrister told the court the preacher had a pattern of offensive conduct towards other religious groups and had not apologised for the speeches. But the Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric said during the hearing he "never set out to insult Jews". Mr Boe argued the allegedly racist lectures were selectively edited and would not have been seen by Jewish people if not reported in the media. Mr Haddad's speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The reporting of the event prompted queries and concerns from Mr Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told. Leaders for the nation's peak Jewish representative body claim they were left with no choice but to sue an Islamist preacher after he referred to Jews as "vile" and "treacherous". Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot launched legal action over a fiery series of sermons in November 2023. The speeches, which amassed thousands of views online, were delivered by Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who referred to Jewish people as "vile", "treacherous" and "murderous". By suing the preacher, Mr Wertheim said he and Mr Goot had been able to achieve something no government, law enforcement, or human rights agency had managed. "We have finally brought to account someone who despises Australia's way of life," he said outside the Federal Court on Friday. "This case is a test of whether rank anti-Semitism, whichever way it might be dressed up, falls into the category of views that members of the community are now expected to put up with." Justice Angus Stewart has reserved his decision on whether the preacher's speeches constitute racial discrimination. Mr Wertheim said they had been left with no alternative than to defend the honour of the Australian Jewish community after the law failed to protect them. "It's a tragedy when our institutions fail us and citizens are left to fend for themselves, by having to pursue a private remedy for a public wrong," he said. Mr Haddad argued his speeches were not racist because they were historical and religious lectures delivered to his Muslim congregation to contextualise the war in Gaza. His lawyer Andrew Boe said he had been quoting Islamic texts so ruling in favour of the two Jewish plaintiffs would be the equivalent of prohibiting the recitation of religious material. "He may be a very bad preacher," he said. "That doesn't mean what he's saying about Islam doesn't fall within (the protections for freedom of religious expression)." The preacher confined his comments outside court to an exhortation to "Free Palestine" and an assurance he would respect the court ruling when it is handed down. Mr Wertheim and Mr Goot are seeking the removal of the published speeches, a public corrective notice and an order restraining Mr Haddad making similar comments in future. Mr Goot said outside court the measures sought against Mr Haddad did not seek to interfere with his freedom of speech except in a "very confined" manner. "What Mr Haddad said and did in the series of speeches he made was utterly unacceptable, un-Australian and - we hope the court will find - unlawful," he said. His barrister told the court the preacher had a pattern of offensive conduct towards other religious groups and had not apologised for the speeches. But the Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric said during the hearing he "never set out to insult Jews". Mr Boe argued the allegedly racist lectures were selectively edited and would not have been seen by Jewish people if not reported in the media. Mr Haddad's speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The reporting of the event prompted queries and concerns from Mr Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told. Leaders for the nation's peak Jewish representative body claim they were left with no choice but to sue an Islamist preacher after he referred to Jews as "vile" and "treacherous". Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot launched legal action over a fiery series of sermons in November 2023. The speeches, which amassed thousands of views online, were delivered by Islamist preacher Wissam Haddad, who referred to Jewish people as "vile", "treacherous" and "murderous". By suing the preacher, Mr Wertheim said he and Mr Goot had been able to achieve something no government, law enforcement, or human rights agency had managed. "We have finally brought to account someone who despises Australia's way of life," he said outside the Federal Court on Friday. "This case is a test of whether rank anti-Semitism, whichever way it might be dressed up, falls into the category of views that members of the community are now expected to put up with." Justice Angus Stewart has reserved his decision on whether the preacher's speeches constitute racial discrimination. Mr Wertheim said they had been left with no alternative than to defend the honour of the Australian Jewish community after the law failed to protect them. "It's a tragedy when our institutions fail us and citizens are left to fend for themselves, by having to pursue a private remedy for a public wrong," he said. Mr Haddad argued his speeches were not racist because they were historical and religious lectures delivered to his Muslim congregation to contextualise the war in Gaza. His lawyer Andrew Boe said he had been quoting Islamic texts so ruling in favour of the two Jewish plaintiffs would be the equivalent of prohibiting the recitation of religious material. "He may be a very bad preacher," he said. "That doesn't mean what he's saying about Islam doesn't fall within (the protections for freedom of religious expression)." The preacher confined his comments outside court to an exhortation to "Free Palestine" and an assurance he would respect the court ruling when it is handed down. Mr Wertheim and Mr Goot are seeking the removal of the published speeches, a public corrective notice and an order restraining Mr Haddad making similar comments in future. Mr Goot said outside court the measures sought against Mr Haddad did not seek to interfere with his freedom of speech except in a "very confined" manner. "What Mr Haddad said and did in the series of speeches he made was utterly unacceptable, un-Australian and - we hope the court will find - unlawful," he said. His barrister told the court the preacher had a pattern of offensive conduct towards other religious groups and had not apologised for the speeches. But the Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric said during the hearing he "never set out to insult Jews". Mr Boe argued the allegedly racist lectures were selectively edited and would not have been seen by Jewish people if not reported in the media. Mr Haddad's speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. The reporting of the event prompted queries and concerns from Mr Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told.
