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........

© The Times of Israel