During a Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Humaid — one of the nine imams of the mosque — prayed for Allah to punish Jews and urged Muslims to view Palestinian children as role models in the face of what he described as an “oppressive and brutal Zionist enemy.”

“Oh Allah, deal with the Jews who have seized and occupied, for they cannot escape your power,” bin Humaid said. “Oh Allah, send upon them your punishment and misery, that can never be repelled by the wrongdoers. Oh Allah, we seek your protection from their harms, and we seek refuge with you from their evils.”

The imam praised Palestinian children as “among the most joyful examples and noble images are the young children of Palestine.”

“Heroic children whose fathers were killed while they watched and whose homes were demolished while they witnessed. Jerusalem and Palestine will remain high and lofty in the hearts of Arabs and Muslims,” he said.

The imam also praised what he described as Palestinian steadfastness, saying that the “blood of the martyrs, the stances of men and the steadfastness of heroes will, by God’s will, yield proud souls and hearts that refuse humiliation.”

Mecca is the holiest city in Islam and is known as the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. Sermons delivered at the Grand Mosque are closely watched across the Muslim world; a YouTube channel carrying the Saudi government’s logo translates the sermon into several languages, including English, French, Chinese, Russian, Turkish, Indonesian and Malay. The sermons are widely seen as reflective of official Saudi religious and political messaging, making it notable that the senior Saudi cleric used the address at Islam’s holiest site to condemn Israel as President Donald Trump continues to promote normalization between the two countries.

Edy Cohen, a research fellow at the Israel Center for Grand Strategy who was born in Lebanon, said that the antisemitic sermons did not begin last week, and that of the nine sheikhs who take turns giving Friday sermons, three have frequently made statements against Jews.

“The Saudis and other Arab states used to say, ‘We’re not against the Jews; we’re against Israel,'” Cohen said. “Here he’s clearly saying he’s against the Jews.”

Cohen added that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, does not have plausible deniability when it comes to antisemitic sermons. 

“MBS knows about every ant that crawls in Saudi Arabia, so he certainly knows what’s in every Friday’s sermon. He cannot claim he doesn’t know. He appointed [bin Humaid],” Cohen stated.

Cohen also warned that pro-Israel figures are turning a blind eye because they want normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but “even if there is normalization, they will continue to say antisemitic things. … It’s systemic.”

“The Saudis don’t care that [Israelis and Jews] know about it, but they do care if American politicians know [about state-sanctioned antisemitism]. They don’t want it in the American media,” Cohen said.

Hussain Abdul-Hussain, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the remarks point to broader political implications.

“Preachers in most Gulf countries are government employees, and their sermons often reflect official talking points,” Abdul-Hussain said. “Sheikh bin Humaid’s speech suggests that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar succeeded in one of the goals of his Oct. 7 attack on Israel by halting normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.”

Following a trip to Riyadh last week, Dan Shapiro, who served as U.S. ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration, said that while the Saudis “are open” to normalization, “it is not imminent.”

“I think it’s unlikely that it could happen in 2026,” Shapiro said on social media. “[MBS] wants to see progress toward a stable future in Gaza, but I do think the crown prince sees that there’s value for his wider regional project to have Saudi Arabia be part of a group of integrated moderate states.”

Talks of normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel have largely remained stalled. Following MBS’ Oval Office meeting with Trump on Nov. 20, 2025, the Gulf leader spoke of wanting to join the Abraham Accords but insisted any progress still hinged on securing a “clear path [toward a] two-state solution.”