Alexander Moshe Schindler was born in 1925, in Munich, the son of Eliezer and Sali (Hoyda) Schindler. His family left Germany in 1938 to escape the Nazis and after brief stays in Switzerland and France, settled in the United States. Schindler attended the City College of New York but left school to fight in World War II. While in the service Schindler received the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

After the war Schindler returned to school and eventually studied for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1953. Following ordination Schindler served at Temple Emanuel in Worcester, Massachusetts while also heading the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation at Clark University in Worcester -- as well as serving at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

From 1963-1967 Schindler served as director of education of the Commission of Jewish Education of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. In1967 he was appointed vice-president of the UAHC and in June 1972 was selected to succeed Maurice N. Eisendrath as president. Schindler was inducted as president of the UAHC on November 12, 1973, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1996.

As president of the UAHC Schindler quickly became a leading voice in American Jewish life. He worked tirelessly advocating for social justice, human rights, and liberal causes in both the Jewish and secular communities. A lifelong Zionist, Schindler worked closely with religious and political leaders as well as with members of the Israeli government on issues of peace, security, and Jewish rights in Israel and throughout the world.

Schindler served on numerous boards and committees throughout his career. From 1976-1978 Schindler served as chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the first Reform Jewish leader to be elected to this position. In 1950, as his history honors thesis, Schindler authored "From Discrimination to Extermination," which examined anti-Jewish policies of the Nazi regime from 1933-1945. He was literary editor of The CCAR Journal and was also founding editor of Dimensions, a quarterly journal of Jewish thought.

In 1956 Schindler married Rhea Rosenblum. They had five children. Alexander M. Schindler died on November 15, 2000, at the age of 75.