Nomad landlady Guela Burke speaks out after eatery owner’s arrest over Nazi sign

The Jewish landlady of a top Sydney restaurateur arrested for carrying a sign featuring a Nazi symbol at a pro-Palestine rally has denounced his actions.

The Jewish landlady of a top Sydney restaurateur arrested for carrying a sign featuring a Nazi symbol at a pro-Palestine rally has denounced his actions, saying they had left her “offended … anyone with a brain would be”.

Guela Burke, the landlady of Alan Yazbek’s Nomad eatery in Sydney, said: “Of course I’m offended but anyone who has brains would be.

“The police have charged him … let them decide what to do (with him).”

Yazbek’s smart eatery, located in a converted warehouse space in Surry Hills, is owned by prominent Sydney real estate investors Mrs Burke, who originally hails from Israel, and her husband Robert, 75, who are joint directors of their company Hanave Pty Ltd.

They learned on Monday that their longstanding tenant was charged by police with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public, after he allegedly held a sign at a rally at Hyde Park with a swastika replacing the Star of David on the Israeli flag and which bore the words “Stop Nazi Israel”.

Guela Burke says she was offended by her tenant’s alleged actions at a pro-Palestinian rally on the weekend. Picture: Matrix

Since his arrest, the venue in Sydney — and its sister branch in Melbourne — have received cancelled bookings and their social media pages have been besieged with negative reviews.

Last year Yazbek, 56, entered a civil legal dispute with Hanave Pty Ltd in the Supreme Court, claiming the rent asked by his retail landlords was not set at the market value.

Commercial property owners Hanave Pty Ltd, owned by 75-year-old Sydney businessman Mr Burke, lost the case.

Lawyers for Nomad Sydney Pty Ltd argued the valuer had failed to use comparable leasing data of rentals in the vicinity and instead relied on information that was not reflective of actual market conditions to reach a fair market rent.

The Supreme Court NSW upheld an earlier decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to declare the valuation invalid as it did not comply with section 31 of the Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW).

A market rent review was ordered by specialist retail valuer agreed by both parties.

Yazbek, pictured at Sunday’s protest holding the alleged sign. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by others in the photograph. Picture: Damian Shaw

Hanave Pty Ltd owns a string of hotels, including Zara Hotel serviced apartments, Neutral Bay Lodge motel in North Sydney, and a heritage building that burned down in Randle Street in Surry Hills last year, amid development plans to transform it into a hotel at an estimated cost of $40m.

Two 13-year-old boys were charged over the blaze, and neither Mr or Mrs Burke are accused of any wrongdoing.

On company records, Mr and Mrs Burke give their address as a nearby property on Devonshire St, Surry Hills.

Mr Burke was appointed as a director of Hanave in 1979, Ms Burke joined in 1995 as its secretary and currently listed as co-director.

Since Yazbek’s arrest at Sunday’s rally, punters vowed to boycott the award-winning establishment.

Yazbek was also allegedly seen brandishing a mock Hezbollah green and yellow flag with the words “our boys in green and gold will win”.

Nomad senior staff were called on Wednesday to an urgent 11am meeting to brief staff and management about “Al’s” arrest and how to handle the customer backlash.

Al Yazbeck and Rebecca Yazbek. Picture: Petrina Tinslay/Facebook

Yazbek, who set up the successful establishment more than a decade ago, has been lying low since the arrest, with staff saying: “he's not even taking our calls.”

Restaurant goers incensed by Yazbek’s alleged conduct at the rally have attacked Nomad’s social media pages with one customer writing, “Don’t go to this antisemetic restaurant”.

“Disgusting,” one said. “I hope you go bust” another wrote.

Yet one customer said it was “sad to see someone attacked for being “anti-genocide”.

Some pledged to boycott the eatery, which was awarded a hat in Good Food’s 2024 awards. Nomads also has a branch in Melbourne.

“How extremely disappointing to see the owner of Nomad Alan Yazbek displaying a hateful message on an image of an Israeli flag at a protest march. (A photo of him in The Daily Telegraph.),” a regular goer wrote on Facebook.

“I have loved and visited Nomad multiple times over the years. It has been a favourite restaurant of mine.

“Now sadly with … Alan Yazbek having no moral compass nor compassion nor sensitivity for the atrocities of Oct 7 in Israel, 2023 it would be inconceivable for me return to Nomad.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry denounced Mr Yazbek’s actions at Sunday’s march as “diabolical”.

NSW Police had warned protesters ahead of the sanctioned event about displaying symbols or flags with links to Hezbollah or photos of the group’s assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Yazbek has been approached for comment.

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