Ahmad Zoud Friday sermon, Masjid As-Sunnah Lakemba
On Friday 22 December 2023, Ahmad Zoud (also spelled Ahmed Zod) gave the Friday sermon, in Arabic, at Masjid As-Sunnah in Lakemba, Sydney. It was streamed on the mosque's Facebook page (NCA NewsWire).
In the excerpt shown, he says (translated from the Arabic by The Evidence Project):
"Who are these monsters from whose hearts mercy has been stripped? These, O people, are the Zionists. These are the Jews. But not all the Jews - rather, most of them. The most important of the characteristics of the Jews is that they are a people thirsty for the shedding of blood."
"They raise their children from a young age and bring them up on terrorism, on violence, on killing. And the Jews remain the Jews; neither the days nor the years change them."
"Among the characteristics of the Jews are treachery and betrayal."
He says this "Quranic truth" was seen "with our own eyes in Gaza, on the day these cowards were falling before the strikes of the mujahideen and fleeing from them like rats."
Raised in Parliament
On 30 May 2024, at Senate estimates (Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, Attorney-General's Department), Senator Michaelia Cash read the quote into the record and asked what remedies existed for "speech such as that":
Senator Cash: "On or about 22 December last year, Sheikh Ahmad Zoud preached a sermon in southwest Sydney attacking Jewish people, saying the following: 'Who are these terrorists, these monsters, who have removed mercy from their hearts? These are the Jews. The most important characteristic of the Jews is that they are thirsty for bloodshed...' In terms of that particular statement, what are the current remedies that groups have for speech such as that?"
Ms Chidgey (Attorney-General's Department): "I don't think it would be appropriate for us to indicate that any particular action was a criminal offence."
Senator Cash: "Do you know if this particular statement has been investigated?"
Ms Chidgey: "No, we're not aware... We don't know."
Later in the hearing, Senator Chisholm for the government said whether it was being investigated "would be a matter for the police", and the department declined to take the question on notice.
Hansard: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees/estimate/28096/&sid=0002
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged a racial hatred complaint. On 29 May 2025 the ECAJ said it had been resolved through conciliation at the Australian Human Rights Commission. Zoud apologised in writing, saying he deeply regretted "the way I framed my comments" and "how they could be interpreted as targeting Jewish people as a whole". The resolution included an undertaking by him "not to repeat these or similar statements in the future". The Sunnah Foundation gave a separate written apology.
The footage is a three-minute excerpt. The full sermon has not been located.
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