Sydney restaurant owner charged with displaying a Nazi symbol
A Sydney restaurant owner has been charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public during a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on the weekend.
56-year-old Alan Yazbek has been identified as the man allegedly holding an Israeli flag with a swastika superimposed on it.
Yazbek is the owner of popular Sydney and Melbourne fine dining restaurants Nomad. He is alleged to have held an Israeli flag with a nazi symbol in the centre accompanied by the text “Stop Nazi Israel”.
The restaurateur joined around 10,000 demonstrators the day before the one-year anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas.
Police moved Yazbek on when they saw the symbol. He was arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged and granted police bail.
As part of his bail conditions, Yazbek is prohibited from being within two kilometres of Town Hall, where the protest was held, unless he is attending his restaurant and business offices for work.
After a crackdown on hate symbols, displaying Nazi symbols in NSW carries a maximum individual penalty of $11,000 fine or 12 months’ imprisonment.
Yazbek released a statement once his identity was released saying, “So many of us have family in the region. Every loss of life is a tragedy. We’re in mourning.”
There has been some backlash towards Yazbek’s restaurants, with some patrons cancelling reservations.
Yazbek will appear before Downing Centre Local Court on October 24.
Jonathan Jackson, 9th October 2024
