The Sydney restaurateur Alan Yazbek has escaped conviction after displaying a swastika at a pro-Palestinian rally.
The magistrate, Miranda Moody, did not record a conviction against the 56-year-old on Tuesday, instead handing him a 12-month conditional release order in the Downing Centre local court.
“This man is no neo-Nazi or rightwing extremist,” the magistrate said. “He is no Nazi lover.”
Yazbek was “deeply remorseful” for carrying the handmade sign, Moody said.
In sentencing, the magistrate took into consideration reference letters from a number of people including multiple Jewish friends of Yazbek. She said the high-profile restaurateur had suffered significant extra-curial punishment.
“He has paid a very high price for his foolishness,” Moody said on Tuesday, citing abusive letters and his decision to step down as co-director of Nomad Group after his arrest.
Yazbek was detained at a rally in support of Palestine in Sydney on 6 October. He was photographed holding a blue-and-white sign mimicking the Israeli flag but with its Star of David replaced with a swastika and the words “Stop Nazi Israel”.
He was charged with displaying a Nazi symbol “without excuse” and pleaded guilty in late October.
New South Wales banned the public display of Nazi symbols in 2022 in an effort to curb antisemitism. The offence carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail or an $11,000 fine.
Yazbek co-owned Nomad with his wife and business partner, Rebecca Yazbek. They opened the Surry Hills restaurant in 2013, followed by three other venues in Melbourne and Sydney.
In a social media post in October, Rebecca Yazbek said her husband was no longer part of the group’s management.
“We deeply regret the impact his actions have had on the community, and for that, we sincerely apologise,” she wrote. “As both his wife and business partner, I was furious with his actions and heartbroken by the harm they caused.”
At the rally, police approached Yazbek and explained that “the Nazi symbol depicted on the corflute board was offensive and prohibited to display in public”, according to agreed facts before the court.
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The accused was given a direction to stop displaying the swastika and became argumentative. But he had complied, the court heard.
Yazbek was “escorted out of the protest by event organisers” and arrested, with police seizing the sign.
He apologised “unreservedly” after being charged.
“I apologise unequivocally for my actions at the demonstration on Sunday where I carried a sign that is deeply offensive to the Jewish community,” he said at the time.
“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.
“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.
“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. Again, I apologise unreservedly.”
– Additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
