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Federal Court Bans Preacher’s Antisemitic Lectures Under Racial Discrimination Act

Justice Stewart found Haddad’s remarks exceeded protections for religious speech

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Overview

  • Justice Stewart ruled that three 2023 lectures by Wissam Haddad at the Al Madina Dawah Centre in Bankstown vilified Jewish people with age-old antisemitic tropes and breached section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
  • The court ordered the removal of the offending lectures from social media and issued an injunction banning Haddad from repeating similar discriminatory statements.
  • Haddad must cover the plaintiffs’ legal costs after his attempt to invoke a religious exemption under section 18D was rejected as unreasonable and not in good faith.
  • A separate interview and one sermon were found lawful because their criticisms were directed at Israeli forces and Zionists rather than Jews generally.
  • The decision sets a legal benchmark for limiting hateful religious discourse in Australia and underscores the boundaries between free speech and racial discrimination.