By Rachael Dexter and Melissa Cunningham
Prominent Australian restaurateur Alan Yazbek has apologised “unequivocally” for holding a Nazi sign at a Pro-Palestine protest, as his venues were dropped from The Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guides and his membership of a key industry body cancelled.
“I apologise unequivocally for my actions at the demonstration on Sunday where I carried a sign that is deeply offensive to the Jewish community,” the director of Nomad group said in a statement.
Nomad Group director Alan Yazbek has restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne.
“You can be sure that [I] will do all I can to regain the trust of my wonderful staff, our loyal customers and the broader community.”
Yazbek will face court this month after NSW Police alleged he held a sign comparing Israel to the Nazis, and displayed the Israeli flag with a swastika at a rally in Sydney on Sunday. Photos from the 10,000-strong protest appear to show a man, allegedly Yazbek, holding a sign mirroring the Israeli flag, but with a swastika in place of the Star of David and the words “Stop Nazi Israel”.
His group owns three high-end venues – Nomad Sydney, Nomad Melbourne and Reine & La Rue in Melbourne.
In the current Good Food Guide issue, Nomad Sydney holds a hat, while Nomad Melbourne does not. Reine & La Rue, which opened last year in Melbourne’s former stock exchange, holds two hats.
A man, allegedly Alan Yazbek, with the offensive sign at the pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Sunday.Credit: Facebook
Earlier on Friday, Good Food head Sarah Norris said the Good Food Guide could not recommend Yazbek’s Sydney and Melbourne restaurants.
“After careful consideration, Good Food has decided to drop Nomad and Reine & La Rue from its Victorian and NSW Good Food Guides,” Norris said.
“We know this decision will affect the staff at these restaurants, and that saddens us. But we feel in light of the recent news, we can’t recommend these venues to our readers.”
The annual guide last month dropped several venues owned by Sydney hospitality giant Swillhouse following serious allegations of sexual assault and harassment. At the time, Norris said the guide was “still about where our editors recommend you eat, but in 2024 we also believe diners care about ethics”.
An image from the rally also shows a man, allegedly Yazbek, holding a flag with the words “our boys in green and gold will win”.Credit: AAP
Meanwhile, the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association (ARCA) – which is backed by hospitality heavyweights Chris Lucas and Neil Perry – on Friday confirmed Nomad Group would be removed from its organisation.
“There is no place in the hospitality industry for racism and antisemitism, and the ARCA board has begun the process, per the ARCA constitution, to revoke Nomad’s membership,” an association spokesman said.
An image from Sunday’s rally also allegedly showed Yazbek, 56, holding a flag with the words “our boys in green and gold will win”. They are the colours associated with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has been named a terrorist organisation by the Australian government.
Yazbek was charged this week with the recently created NSW offence of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public.
The Age reported on Thursday that global banking giant Goldman Sachs, champagne brand G.H. Mumm and law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler had cut ties with Yazbek.
In his apology late on Friday, Yazbek said he was committed to regaining the trust of the Jewish and wider community and offering “an olive branch of peace and love”.
“Friends and acquaintances who know me – both Jewish and gentile – know that I am not an antisemite, and they also know how passionate I am about supporting diversity and equality in both my personal life and within the Nomad group of businesses,” he said.
He called for an end to the war in the Middle East and said the conflict had left him traumatised.
“Like a great many, I am traumatised daily by the ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East – within Israel, in Palestine and now in Lebanon. We must make it stop,” he said.
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