Warnings about men who preach hate fell on deaf ears
Australian Jewish groups repeatedly warned authorities about Islamic hate preachers but saw little action.
Editorial
January 2, 2026 — 5.00am
Federal and state law enforcement agencies were apparently heedless of repeated warnings about radical Islamic hate preachers spreading their vile venom in Sydney.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry and the Jewish Board of Deputies had been raising concerns about rhetoric from some hardline preachers since the Hamas raid of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s continuing strong response brought the Middle East conflict to our shores.
Controversial Islamic preacher Wissam Haddad.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The Herald’s Michael McGowan reports that along with notorious cleric Wissam Haddad, specific concerns were relayed about the extremist group Hizb ut-Tahir, as well as some clerics linked to Salafist group ASWJ. They included sermons in a Bankstown Islamic centre and a Lakemba mosque where Hamas were lauded as “freedom fighters and warriors” and flags of Islamic State and al-Qaeda praised.
The issue of hate preachers has come into focus since the mass shooting of 15 people at a Jewish community gathering by IS-inspired father and son killers at Bondi Beach and the links between one of the alleged gunmen, Naveed Akram, and members of a Sydney IS terror cell which had been associated with preachers such as Haddad.
AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed authorities were examining a host of sermons which potentially incited hatred against the Jewish community.
Loading
NSW particularly has been moving fast to protect the Jewish community. Premier Chris Minns has imposed a blanket ban on protests, strengthened hate speech legislation, and is now countenancing the deployment of Defence personnel and allowing Jewish organisation the Community Services Group to be further armed. He also sanctioned NSW Police to carry assault rifles on New Year’s Eve and is cracking down on hate preachers.
These involved sweeping changes to freedoms that were never considered until Bondi Beach. It is a new path that we must tread warily.
Regrettably, some of the response to Bondi Beach has also descended into political football and bickering – a rift that has been widened by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese refusing to hold a federal royal commission into antisemitism.
The fact is that both federal and state authorities have been scrambling to overhaul security operations in response to the Bondi Beach shootings and indications since suggest they had dropped the ball comprehensively in the years before.
The various inquiries that have been set in train will undoubtedly examine why authorities failed to predict the potential problems with the Hanukkah celebration, but the rise of ranting hate preachers was not a bolt from the blue.
Obviously, these men and their hate groups do not represent mainstream Islam. The Herald revealed last month that as far back as a decade ago, senior members of Sydney’s Muslim community had urged police to take action against Haddad.
The Hamas massacre of Jewish people in Israel on October 7, 2023, and the Israeli government’s response, have inflamed hatreds and passions across the globe. But Haddad and his ilk have been a predictable and persistent problem in Sydney that authorities failed to address despite continuing warnings from the very community they targeted with hate.
Get a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up for our Opinion newsletter.