The prominent Sydney restaurateur Alan Yazbek has apologised “unreservedly” after being charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public after Sunday’s pro-Palestine rallies.
Photos from the 10,000-strong protest appear to show a man – reportedly 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”.
Yazbek, the director of Nomad Group whose flagship restaurant is Nomad in Surry Hills, on Friday issued a statement of apology, stating that those who know him “know that I am not an antisemite”.
“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 statement said.
“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.
“To the wider Jewish community, and in particular my Jewish friends, staff and guests of NOMAD both past and present, I offer an olive branch of peace and love. Salam Alaykum (Peace be upon you).”
Yazbek founded the Nomad group with his wife, Rebecca Yazbek. They opened Nomad in Sydney in 2013, followed by Nomad Melbourne in 2021 and Reine & La Rue in the Melbourne CBD in 2023. A sibling Sydney restaurant, Beau, opened in 2023 but closed earlier this year.
Yazbek was charged under New South Wales laws with displaying the symbol “without excuse” and will appear in Downing Centre local court on 24 October.
NSW banned the public display of Nazi symbols in 2022.
