A magistrate has accepted that the owner of prominent Sydney and Melbourne restaurants was not a “neo-Nazi or right-wing extremist” and declined to convict him for holding an anti-Semitic sign at a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney’s Hyde Park on Oct. 6, on the anniversary of Hamas’ attack in 2023.
Alan Yazbek, co-owner of the Nomad Restaurant Group, pleaded guilty to displaying a Nazi symbol—a swastika—in place of the Star of David on a homemade sign that read “stop Nazi Israel” and featured the colours of the Israeli flag.
When approached by police officers during the protest, he described the image as an “Israeli swastika,” according to court documents.
The Lebanon-born 56-year-old was also photographed on the same day holding a flag in the colours of the militant group Hezbollah, which is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.
Police had directed him to stop displaying the swastika, and he had become argumentative but eventually complied.
When Yazbek appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Dec. 10, his lawyer, Phillip English, tendered documents on his behalf, including a written apology, letters of support from Jewish friends, and copies of media articles.
Despite entering a guilty plea to the offence, Yazbek escaped conviction when Magistrate Miranda Moody placed him on a 12-month conditional release, saying she accepted he deeply regretted his actions.
“This man is no neo-Nazi or rightwing extremist. He is no Nazi lover,” the magistrate said.
She noted he had “paid a very high price for his foolishness,” having received abusive letters and being forced to stand aside from his business.
The offence of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without reasonable excuse carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison or an $11,000 (US$7,000) fine.
The laws were passed by the New South Wales state parliament in 2022 with unanimous support in response to increasing cases of anti-Semitism.
Following Yazbek’s guilty plea, his wife and business partner Rebecca Yazbek said he would no longer be involved in managing Nomad’s operations, citing a public and hospitality industry backlash.
The company operates the high-profile Nomad restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne and the French-themed Reine & La Rue.
In an earlier statement, Yazbek claimed he had been traumatised every day by the ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East, but apologised and acknowledged his actions were “deeply offensive to the Jewish community.”
“Friends and acquaintances who know me—both Jewish and gentile—know that I am not an anti-Semite,” he said. “Within Israel, in Palestine and now in Lebanon. We must make it stop.
“To the wider Jewish community, and in particular my Jewish friends, staff and guests of Nomad both past and present, I offer an olive branch of peace and love.”
