<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An Islamist preacher can no longer make disparaging remarks about Jews in public after a landmark ruling on his speeches, in which he described them as vile and treacherous.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sydney-based Al Madina Dawah Centre cleric Wissam Haddad was accused of racial discrimination in relation to a series of fiery sermons, which have racked up thousands of views online, since November 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the speeches, the preacher, also known as Abu Ousayd, referred to Jewish people as vile, treacherous, murderous, and mischievous.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/minimum-wage-paid-parental-leave-superannuation-everything-changing-for-australians-july-one-explained/499f957b-565b-4fe5-90d4-ce381ac3f664" target="_blank"><strong><span>Pay, parental leave, super: Everything that's changing today</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Justice Angus Stewart on Tuesday found the speeches were disparaging and likely to offend, insult, harass or intimidate Jewish people.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The imputations include age-old tropes against Jewish people that are fundamentally racist and anti-Semitic,' Stewart said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They make perverse generalisations against Jewish people as a group."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/islamic-preachers-vile-jew-sermons-declared-racist-new-south-wales-news/3a34d5f9-6e44-4464-82ed-d2a0eadd6f06" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>During the landmark case testing the limits of religious expression and hate speech, two Jewish leaders argued the online lectures were offensive and could incite violence towards Jews.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They sought the removal of the published speeches, a public declaration of error and an order restraining Haddad from making similar comments in future.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Haddad denied breaching anti-discrimination laws and claimed he was delivering historical and religious lectures on events from the Koran to contextualise the war in Gaza.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He said he was speaking about "Jews of faith" rather than ethnicity while trying to explain that "what the Israeli government is doing to the people of Gaza" is "not something new".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-construction-manager-facing-deportation-after-ms-diagnosis/fde1ef5e-90b8-4211-b683-bcab115a68ab" target="_blank"><strong><span>Sydney construction manager facing deportation after health diagnosis</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ruling against the preacher would be tantamount to restricting the free exercise of religious expression, Haddad's lawyer argued.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Stewart rejected the defence on Tuesday and ordered Haddad to remove the speeches.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He directed the preacher not to make any further comments that convey similar disparaging imputations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Haddad has also been ordered to foot the legal bill for Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The preacher did not appear in the Federal Court when Stewart handed down his decision, arriving late.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His speeches were delivered during a time of heightened sensitivity after the designated terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking Israeli retaliation that has left the Gaza Strip in turmoil.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The reporting of the war prompted questions and concerns from Haddad's congregants and at the same time left Jewish Australians feeling unsafe, the court was told.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>