A high-profile restaurateur has been described as neither an anti-Semite nor a neo-Nazi as he escaped conviction for holding up an anti-Israel sign with a swastika at a protest.
Alan Yazbek pleaded guilty to displaying the Nazi symbol during a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney's Hyde Park on October 6.
The co-owner of the Nomad Restaurant Group appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, where he was issued a 12-month conditional release without a conviction.
Magistrate Miranda Moody said she accepted Yazbek was deeply regretful over his conduct on the day, which she described as "extremely foolish".
"I accept that this man is no neo-Nazi or right-wing extremist," she said.
"These are very, very emotionally charged matters."
There are so many people on both sides so deeply emotionally invested.
"Clearly the present offender is one of them. He has long been passionate about the Middle East region."
As a result of his actions, Yazbek had been forced to stand down as managing director of his company, Ms Moody noted.
He had also received threatening and abusive emails, some of which the magistrate described as "truly horrifying”.
Yazbek's hand-painted sign featured the words "stop Nazi Israel" and bore the colours of the Israeli flag with a swastika in place of the Star of David.
When approached by police officers during the protest and told the sign was prohibited and offensive, he said the image was an "Israeli swastika", according to court documents.
The Lebanon-born 56-year-old was also photographed on the same day holding a flag in colours matching those of militant group Hezbollah, which is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia.
Yazbek's lawyer Phillip English tendered documents on his behalf, including a written apology, letters of support from Jewish friends and copies of media articles.
In segments of the letters read to the court, one friend said they had never seen Yazbek display "anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist or racist views”.
However, the same friend described his ignorance over the significance of the swastika and its offensiveness as “bewildering and troubling”.
"Al’s displaying of this symbol was extremely hurtful to me personally," another friend wrote to the court.
“One thing that I am 100 per cent sure of is that Al is not an anti-Semite.”
Speaking to media after the sentencing, Yazbek again apologised for his actions and offence caused to the Jewish community.
“I got it wrong, I'm profoundly sorry," he said.
"I hope the Jewish community can forgive me over time.
"All I've ever wanted was peace in the region."
Following Yazbek's guilty plea, his wife and business partner Rebecca Yazbek said he would no longer be involved in managing Nomad's operations, citing a public and hospitality industry backlash.
The company operates the critically acclaimed Nomad restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, where it also owns the French-themed Reine & La Rue.
A subsequent statement said Ms Yazbek would be taking over as Nomad's sole director and that Yazbek would be spending time in an ashram in India ahead of Tuesday's sentencing.
The company would be renamed Edition Hospitality as part of the process.
Yazbek was among thousands of people who attended the city-centre rally, which was held a day before the anniversary of Hamas's deadly October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel.
He was arrested and charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without reasonable excuse, which carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison or an $11,000 fine.
The laws were passed by the NSW parliament in 2022 with bi-partisan support in response to what was said at the time to be rising cases of anti-Semitism.
Mr English noted Yazbek's matter was only the third case successfully prosecuted under the laws.
Two men found guilty in one of those cases have since had their convictions overturned on appeal.
