Nomad restaurant founder Al Yazbek pleads guilty over Nazi symbol
Embattled restaurateur Al Yazbek has pleaded guilty to charges of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public, after brandishing a sign bearing a swastika superimposed on an Israeli flag.
Embattled Nomad restaurant founder Al Yazbek has pleaded guilty to charges of knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public, after brandishing a sign bearing a swastika superimposed on an Israeli flag.
Appearing in Sydney’s Downing Centre court on Thursday morning, Mr Yazbek’s lawyer, Phillip English, told Magistrate Mark Whelan the case had attracted a great deal of media attention and handed up a large file which he said contained “negative emails” apparently addressed to his client.
Mr English asked that sentencing take place later on Thursday but Mr Whelan said it was “not a matter that can be done on the run”.
Mr Yazbek will now appear before the court for sentencing on December 10.
On Wednesday, Mr Yazbek’s wife sent an email to the restaurant group’s patrons slamming her husband and saying she was “furious with his actions and heartbroken by the harm they caused”.
In the message emailed to Nomad patrons, Ms Yazbek said her husband was no longer involved in the management of the business.
“I fully understand the disappointment and frustration felt by those affected, and I am committed to doing everything possible to restore your trust,” she said.
Ms Yazbek was not present in court on Thursday.
Mass cancellations have been reported at the couple’s up-market restaurants Nomad Sydney, Nomad Melbourne and Reine & La Rue, with major corporations cancelling events and business relationships after Mr Yazbek was charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public.
Mr Yazbek told The Australian last week he would be standing down from the Nomad business, for the sake of his family, staff and customers, to attend an ashram in India.
Mr Yazbek has previously apologised “unequivocally” for his conduct, but that apology was undermined when The Australian revealed last week that he was questioned by police after acting suspiciously outside a Bondi synagogue in Sydney’s east in 2014, where his car was found loaded with “water bomb” balloons.
The next day, Mr Yazbek made his way into a rally for Israel in nearby Dover Heights where more than 10,000 members of Sydney’s Jewish community had gathered, before the restaurateur was spotted by security and removed by police.
Police also spoke to Ms Yazbek who was found in a car outside the event and said she was waiting for her husband.
In answer to a series of questions from The Australian, Mr Yazbek admitted he had gone to the synagogue in 2014 to throw water bombs, mistakenly believing the Israel rally was to be held there.
He denied he had gone to the Jewish rally the following day to cause trouble.“The next day, Rebecca and I were going for a walk with our dog. I asked her to detour so that I could listen to the event – that’s all,” he said. “I was simply going to listen to the speeches.
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