By Penry Buckley and Sally Rawsthorne
High-profile restaurateur Alan Yazbek has escaped conviction for displaying a Nazi symbol in public at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney’s CBD in October.
The 56-year-old former Nomad boss appeared on Tuesday before Downing Centre Local Court, where Magistrate Miranda Moody handed him a 12-month conditional release order.
Alan Yazbek arrives at court on Tuesday morning.Credit: Louise Kennerley
“This man is no neo-Nazi or right-wing extremist ... he is no Nazi lover,” she said.
Yazbek was “deeply remorseful” for his hand-drawn sign, she said. He tendered letters of reference from a number of people, including multiple Jewish friends, to the court.
“He has paid a very high price for his foolishness, an enormous amount of extra-curial punishment,” she said, citing abusive letters written to his business and his decision to step down from his role as co-director of Nomad Group after his arrest.
Outside court, Yazbek said he was “deeply sorry”. “I hope the Jewish community can forgive me over time, all I’ve ever wanted is peace in the region.”
Yazbek pleaded guilty in October, following his arrest on October 6 for holding a poster that replaced the Star of David on the Israeli flag with a swastika and compared Israel to the Nazis.
Alan Yazbek at the pro-Palestine rally in Sydney.Credit: Facebook
Police approached Yazbek and explained that “the Nazi symbol depicted on the corflute board was offensive and prohibited to display in public”.
“The accused said to police, ‘What’s the offensive symbol?’ and police informed him that the swastika was the offensive symbol,” the agreed facts state.
“The accused said the symbol was an ‘Israeli swastika’. The accused was given a direction to stop displaying the swastika and became argumentative, however, complied, and stopped displaying the symbol.”
The facts state Yazbek was “escorted out of the protest by event organisers” and then arrested. Police seized his sign and phone.
This masthead reported he was heading to an ashram in India after entering his guilty plea ahead of his sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
In November, Yazbek’s wife Rebecca announced the company, of which she will be the sole director, would be renamed Edition Hospitality as part of a restructure that removes her husband from any involvement in management or day-to-day operations. He will remain a shareholder.
The company’s three high-end restaurants – Nomad Sydney, Nomad Melbourne and Reine & La Rue in Melbourne – will not be renamed. Celebrity accountant Anthony Bell has been enlisted to help with the restructure.
Nomad Sydney and Reine & La Rue had been recognised in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Good Food Guide but were removed on October 11 following backlash from the rally.
Nomad Group was also removed from the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association the same day.
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