Aussie restaurateur charged over swastika at pro-Palestine protest

Alan Yazbek, co-owner of the popular Nomad restaurant group, has been charged for allegedly displaying a poster with a Nazi symbol at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney.

The 56-year-old was pictured holding a sign in blue and white which appeared to replicate the Israeli flag.

It had a blue swastika in the middle with the words "Stop Nazi Israel" around it.

According to police, officers were on patrol at Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon when they noticed the alleged sign, removed it and told the man to move on.

Yazbek was charged with knowingly displaying by public act the Nazi symbol without an excuse yesterday under new state laws.

He has been issued a court attendance notice to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on November 21.

Another image from the same rally appears to show him holding a flag saying "boys in green and gold will win" – the colours of Hezbollah's flag.

He was the second man to be charged for allegedly displaying a Nazi poster at the rally. 

Yazbek and his wife Rebecca opened Nomad in Sydney's Surry Hills in 2013, serving Middle Eastern-inspired food.

Eight years later, they expanded to Flinders Lane in Melbourne.

The pair also own the French-inspired restaurant Reine & La Rue in Melbourne, which opened just last year.

Fans of the restaurants have flooded their social media pages, condemning Yazbek for the alleged act and promising never to dine there again.

"Will never eat there ever, you should be ashamed of yourselves for your clear display of antisemitism," one user said. 

"Do all your dishes come with a side of antisemitism? Asking for a friend," another said.

"As someone who has supported your business for years, you will not be seeing us again in any of your establishment," a third said. 

"I will not be going to Nomad restaurant in Melbourne ever again," former Victorian Labor minister Marsha Thomson said.

Yazbek has been approached for comment.