Restaurateur Alan Yazbek has escaped conviction and been handed a 12-month conditional release order for knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol at a Sydney rally.

Warning: This story contains an image of a Nazi symbol.

The 56-year-old pleaded guilty in October to the single charge, after he was seen holding a placard at a large rally in Hyde Park earlier that month.

The placard featured the Israeli flag but replaced the Star of David with a blue swastika and read: "Stop Nazi Israel."

The charge carries a maximum possible penalty of 12 months in prison or an $11,000 fine.

But on Tuesday, Magistrate Miranda Moody did not record a conviction and imposed a conditional release order.

Under the terms of that order, Yazbek is subject to standard conditions including that he not commit any offence and must appear before the court if called upon to do so.

Yazbek was the only person charged after an estimated 10,000-strong rally in Sydney on October 6, the day before the one year anniversary of the October 7 terror attacks in Israel.

The offence was introduced in 2022 in a bid to tackle anti-Semitism.

He has previously acknowledged the sign was "deeply offensive to the Jewish community" and apologised.

Yazbek's wife, Rebecca, previously revealed in a statement that her husband was no longer involved in the management of the business they co-founded, Nomad Group, which runs several high end venues.

She said she was "furious" with his actions as both his wife and business partner.

According to the agreed facts, when Yazbek was approached by police and told about the offensive symbol, he replied: "What's the offensive symbol?"

When given a direction to stop displaying the symbol, he "became argumentative", but complied.

In a letter tendered to court, Yazbek said he was "profoundly apologetic" for his actions, which he acknowledged have had "a profound detrimental effect on the Jewish community, as well as my wife, family, staff and friends".

He said he was "deeply sorry at the hurt and distress I have caused".

Yazbek spoke of being the son of Lebanese-born parents who migrated to Australia in the 50s, and considered himself to be an Australian with rich Lebanese heritage.

"It's from this background that I am personally troubled by the warring events presently occurring in Lebanon, where I have family and friends living, as well as the conflict in Palestine."

Yazbek said the effect of the "terrible events" on him was a feeling of obligation to "speak out against what I perceive to have been the mistreatment, injury and death of innocent people by the current Israeli regime".

He said his "sole obligation" has always been to promote peaceful dialogue.

"To my deep regret, my actions on 6 October have had the opposite effect," he wrote.

Yazbek said he had come to better understand the trauma that Jewish people carry from the Holocaust and how it is symbolised by the swastika.

"By my actions, I have let everyone down," he said.

"I hope to work with the Jewish community and wider community to restore the trust and respect that I previously enjoyed."