Alexander Ryvchin

Alexander Ryvchin (; born 18 July 1983) is a Ukrainian-born Australian author, advocate, media commentator, and lawyer. As Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, he advocates on behalf of the Australian Jewish community. He is a frequent guest on US, Israeli and Australia media.

Early life and education He was born in Kiev, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (present-day Ukraine) in 1983 and his mother tongue is Russian. The family attempted to leave for years and were refuseniks. When the family arrived in Australia they did not have a family or friend network in the country and were impoverished and did not speak English. He graduated with a degree in law and politics from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Career He practised law at Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney and Herbert Smith in London before serving as a spokesman for the Zionist Federation UK and being awarded an Israel Research Fellowship.

In May 2013, Ryvchin was appointed Director of Public Affairs at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. In 2016, he spoke at the Babi Yar memorial in Sydney. In the same year, he wrote about the Babi Yar massacre for Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was promoted to co-chief executive officer in 2018, becoming one of the youngest professional leaders in the Jewish world. In the same year he was invited to give a lecture "The Anti-Israel Movement in Australia: Perspectives on a Controversy" at Yale University for the Yale Program for the Study of Antisemitism.

As part of his position, he regularly represents Australian Jewry in the national and international media. In 2021, he appeared on SBS to mark 80 years since the murder of 33, 000 Jews at Babi Yar. He appears regularly on Sky News Australia. He has also appeared on news and current affairs programmes for the ABC.

In 2023, he was honoured by The Jerusalem Post and the Jewish National Fund as one of its top 25 young visionaries.

In November 2023, he cut ties with Australian Jewish Association and said the group "has no representative status and in no way speaks for or reflects the views of Australian Jews".

Writing His writing on the Arab–Israeli conflict and Jewish history has been published in numerous international newspapers, including The Australian, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, the National Post, The Free Press and The Jerusalem Post. Ryvchin has also written on a number of occasions for The Spectator.

Ryvchin is the author of two books on Israel. His debut book, The Anti-Israel Agenda – Inside the Political War on the Jewish State (Gefen Publishing House, 2017), is a collaborative work with other pro-Israel writers including Alan Dershowitz, Colonel Richard Kemp, Hillel Neuer and Professor Alan Johnson. It was lauded by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as "the most important book on Israel since Alan Dershowitz's The Case for Israel".

In 2019, Ryvchin published his second book, Zionism – The Concise History.

He published the book The 7 Deadly Myths: Antisemitism from the Time of Christ to Kanye West in 2023.

Views Ryvchin has aligned himself with Zionism, describing it as a core part to Jewish identity and authoring works to reclaim its meaning to the movement. As co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), he leads the organisation's efforts to support Israel. Under him, ECAJ has included support for Zionism in its official statements and public activities, to public speeches rallying behind the State of Israel.

Ryvchin is a critic of the anti-Zionist movement referring to its activists as "self-righteous westerners" with "pretensions to heroism" who seek "redemption" by "slaying the Zionist beast".

He has been a staunch critic of Palestinian terrorism, corruption and rejection of a negotiated end to the conflict with Israel.

In 2018, he welcomed the decision of Scott Morrison's government to recognise West Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

He is against the Russo-Ukrainian War and supports Ukraine. In 2024, the Russian government added his name to a list of Australian nationals sanctioned for "formulating the anti-Russia agenda".

He has spoken publicly of his love for Australia and his support for multiculturalism and integration which Ryvchin argues requires that "we accept the duty to uphold the freedoms granted to us and to protect the values underpinning our society – values such as democracy, tolerance, mutual respect." He also participated in the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras with Dayenu, in solidarity with LGBT Jewry.

In June 2024 he called on Senator Fatima Payman to resign after Payman accused Israel of genocide during the Gaza war and used phrase "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free". He also said Payman and Australian Greens "must be held accountable" and accused them of bringing antisemitism into the mainstream and legitimising violent protests, "deceitful rhetoric on genocide", and endangering the Jewish community.

In the wake of the 2024 Melbourne synagogue attack, Ryvchin called for a "serious and profound" government response to increasing levels of antisemitism in Australia. He added that a "national crisis" should be declared on antisemitism and that there should be a ban on protests outside places of worship and schools.

In January 2025, his former home was vandalised and four cars were damaged in an antisemitic attack.

Works 2017: Anti-Israel Agenda: Inside the Political War on the Jewish State 2019: Zionism: the concise history 2020: A New Day 2023: The Seven Deadly Myths