Archibald Prize People’s Choice Winner Sparks Debate Over Portrait of Pro-Israel Lobbyist
August 1, 2026
“THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE” OR PRO-WAR LOBBYIST?
Artist Michael Zavros was awarded the 2026 Archibald People’s Choice Award for his portrait of Alex Ryvchin—the co-CEO of Australia’s largest pro-Israel lobby group, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
While mainstream media outlets celebrated the victory, they completely omitted Ryvchin’s long, documented history of praising militarism and military aggression across the Middle East.
WHAT THE MEDIA ISN’T TELLING YOU:
Ryvchin has repeatedly taken to social media to praise the IDF, posting comments like “glory to the heroes of the IDF” and “bless the heroes of the IDF.”
In public statements, Ryvchin cheered on the lethal September 2024 pager detonations across Lebanon—attacks that killed and maimed thousands, including young children—calling on supporters to look to those who “took down our enemies one by one, pager by pager.”
Dating back to 2011, Ryvchin pushed for unilateral attacks on Iran, later celebrating military strikes that killed Iranian scientists and military generals as a “real game changer… in the interest of peace.”
Art institutions and media platforms might glorify figures on the public stage, but scrubbing their record of war cheerleading won’t erase the truth.
Courtesy of @nicholashanna1
#ArchibaldPrize #israel #fyp #ECAJ #ArtGalleryOfNSW
English Script:
Unknown woman: The winner of the Archibald Prize 2026 A&Z People’s Choice Award is Michael Zavros, with his exquisite painting of Alex Rychvin. I think people are just really moved by it. I mean, I was moved. I painted something I believed in. I’ve found common ground with this man.
Vo: Alex Rychvin, the co-CEO of Australia’s largest pro-Israel lobby group, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or the ECAJ. Over the past three years, Rychvin has made myriad public posts on X, in which he has praised the Israeli military with comments such as glory to the heroes of the IDF, bless the heroes of the IDF, and thank you to the heroic female soldiers of the IDF. We love you and we’re with you.
Michael Zavros: I’ve found common ground with this man.
Rychvin: I urge you to look to your community for strength. Look to our brothers and sisters in Israel who have taken down our enemies one by one, pager by pager.
Vo: The reference to pagers is, of course, a reference to the page attacks in Lebanon in September 2024, when Israel simultaneously detonated thousands of explosive devices it had concealed inside pages, killing and maiming thousands of Lebanese citizens. But Hezbollah fighters and civilians, including numerous children. I’ve found common ground with this man. Back in 2011, when Rychvin was the spokesperson for the Zionist Federation in the UK, he advocated for the right of Israel to attack Iran militarily.
Rychvin: And it simply will not tolerate a nuclear Iran. And I think we have sadly gotten to that point where if the world is not prepared to confront this global problem, I think Israel will have to act unilaterally.
Vo: When Israel launched its unilateral and unlawful military strikes on Iran in June last year, Rychvin defended not only the attacks but also the killing of Iranian scientists.
Rychvin: The top three generals in the Iranian army have been knocked off, two of their leading nuclear scientists, the majority. That nuclear facilities have been hit. And I think this would be a real game changer in the region. I think something that was badly needed and certainly adds an interest of peace in the long term.
