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Judge Jennifer Atkinson said the actions were carried out as part of organized activity and were intended to inflame tensions between communities.
By Shula Rosen
A Sydney man who carried out a series of antisemitic arson attacks, including an attempt to ignite a home linked to a Jewish community leader, was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison, authorities said.
Nicholas James Alexander, 32, admitted responsibility for seven arson and hate-crime offenses tied to attacks against Jewish targets in Sydney between late 2024 and early 2025. Prosecutors said the incidents formed part of a broader campaign directed at the city’s Jewish community.
Judge Jennifer Atkinson said the actions were carried out as part of organized activity and were intended to inflame tensions between communities.
In her ruling, she said the operation sought “to drive a wedge between the Arab and Jewish communities” and was linked to instructions from a large overseas crime group that directed Alexander.
According to the court, the attacks included attempts to set vehicles on fire and a plan to burn down a residence that had previously belonged to Alex Ryvchin, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Investigators said Alexander also arranged for other people to participate in several incidents.
Those acts included an effort to place incendiary devices at a childcare center, spray-painting 10 Nazi symbols on a synagogue, and setting cars ablaze outside Ryvchin’s former home.
Authorities arrested Alexander during an investigation led by Strike Force Pearl, a special task force created to address a wave of serious antisemitic crimes across Australia. Police filed 10 charges against him in March last year, and he later pleaded guilty to seven of those counts in December 2025.
Atkinson said the punishment was meant to serve as a warning against similar crimes and acknowledged the impact the attacks had on the community.
“Alexander knew that the offenses would create fear within the Jewish community and beyond,” she said.
Ryvchin said after the sentencing that the decision reflected the seriousness of the attacks and their potential consequences.
“This man’s decision to target a childcare center and a family home caused people to fear for their lives and for the safety of their children,” Ryvchin said. “His actions could easily have resulted in people being burned alive.”
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