Meet Al Yazbek:
Founder of the NOMAD Group which owns the restaurants Nomad Sydney and Reine & La Rue in Melbourne, Al says “I love building beautiful spaces for guests to then create moments that will, hopefully, stay with them a lifetime.”
Well, he certainly created a moment that might just stay with him for a lifetime:
A celebrated restaurateur is the man charged with holding up a Nazi swastika sign at Sunday’s pro-Palestinian rally in Hyde Park.
Alan Yazbek was charged by NSW Police after allegedly holding aloft the sign which read “Stop Nazi Israel” and had the Star of David in the centre of the Israeli flag replaced with the swastika.
The 56-year-old owner of Nomad restaurant in Surry Hills was charged with knowingly display a Nazi symbol in public.
NSW Police had warned protesters ahead of the sanctioned event about displaying symbols or flags with links to Hezbollah or photos of the groups recently assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah.
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On Sunday, Yazbek was one of an estimated 10,000 people to march through the streets of the CBD at the peaceful pro-Palestinian event.
In a statement, Yazbek told The Daily Telegraph: “So many of us have family in the region. Every loss of life is a tragedy. We’re in mourning.”
After having his sign taken off him and being placed under arrest, Yazbek was taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged and granted police bail.
The conditions of that bail prohibit him from going within two kilometres of Town Hall, except to attend his restaurant and various business offices for work.
Yazbek is set to face Downing Centre Local Court on October 24.
I am not sure whether Al will end up in jail (I assume not), but what I can assume is that after his antisemitic act has been publicized far and wide, and his restaurants (Nomad Sydney and Reine & La Rue) boycotted by Jews and in fact everyone who detests Jew-hatred, he might have to scale back his opulent lifestyle somewhat.
Which would be a crying shame.
