Summer means a few things in Alaska: the earth peeks out beneath the snow, the days become extremely long, and cruise ship after cruise ship arrives with tourists from around the world for seasonal, historical and nature-related trips.
For many visitors, the the Alaska Jewish Museum has become a must-see stop when in Anchorage. Founded in 2013 under the auspices of Chabad of Alaska, the Jewish museum now has two permanent exhibits, with a third in the works.
The first exhibit “On Wings of Eagles: Alaska’s Contribution to Operation Magic Carpet,” focuses on the heroic efforts of Alaska Airlines pilots in bringing Jews from Yemen to Israel from 1948-1950. The second exhibit, which opened earlier this year, focuses on an even earlier time period—the Jewish residents of Anchorage in the early 20th century.
“Visitors are not only surprised that there were Jews in Anchorage at the turn of the 20th century, but that Jews were here even before the sale of the Alaskan territory to the United States in 1867,” says museum curator Leslie Fried.
“Jewish Movers and Shakers in Early Anchorage” displays the lives of six families—the Bayles, David, Koslosky, Gottstein, Green and Loussac families—who lived in Anchorage in the early 1900s. It features photographs, audio testimonies from family members, diary entries, newspaper clippings and personal artifacts.
“It gives a little historical view of Alaska—that the Jews are not recent arrivals. They are part of the history of Alaska, part of the fundamental pioneering picture of Alaska,” says Perry Green, whose father, David Green, was one of the Jewish founders of Anchorage. “Jews have been aviators and storekeepers, dog-runners and postmasters. Many of the small villages have roots with Jewish traders.”
Green, who also contributed an oral history to the exhibit, adds that the museum display shows that “Jews have always been community-minded, and that it was a very open and loving community.”
Like many who came to Alaska at that time, the Jewish pioneers featured in the exhibit came to Alaska seeking prosperity and business opportunity. Some worked in the fur trade; others opened shops and banks. They were active in building their future homes and city. One of those early residents, Leopold David, even served as the first mayor of Anchorage.
Early Jewish residents in Anchorage didn’t have a formal shul or even a rabbi. Events were hosted in storefronts or private homes, with the Bayles family arranging to have a Torah scroll brought to the city. (Another Bayles family member brought a Torah to Fairbanks as well.)
Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, co-director of the Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska with his wife, Esther—Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries who have served Jews in the state for 25 years now—emphasizes that the six featured families represent more than just a pioneering spirit.
“When Anchorage was a little town of less than 2,000 people and the Jewish community was almost nonexistent, these families came here and became active members of the city,” he explains. “They were deeply connected to their Judaism.”
Loussac, for instance, was not only a businessman; like David and Bayles before him, he became mayor of Anchorage. Greenberg notes that “he created a foundation in Anchorage for education and gave away half of his money. Loussac helped build the biggest library in Anchorage. Everyone knows his name.”
The rabbi adds that timing of the exhibit is perfect: The current mayor of Anchorage, elected last year, is also Jewish. “The exhibit really shows what the Jews did and have done for Alaska, and it’s amazing how the circle has come around with our current mayor, Ethan Berkowitz.”
‘Tolerance and Understanding’
Several thousand people have come through the museum since it opened three years ago. Given its success so far in reaching out to Alaskan tourists and residents, plans are underway for additional exhibits.
“The museum is not only affecting local Jews and local residents, but people worldwide,” explains Greenberg. “When you have museum that shows how non-Jews saved Jews, it encourages other people; it helps create tolerance and understanding of different cultures,” he says. “Anchorage’s history is a great example of this.”
And while visitors are there, many also choose to spend Shabbat in a hotel near the Chabad center so they can attend services, and join in for Shabbat dinner on Friday night or Shabbat luncheon on Saturday.
“One of the most common scenes here are as follows: Tourists visit the museum and since the Lubavitch center is nearby, they come to check it out. We take them upstairs to the sanctuary, where they can see the Chugach Mountains from our tall windows. We hand out Shabbat candles and lighting times to women. We offer men a chance to put on tefillin and say the Shema prayer, and almost 99 percent of them agree,” relates Greenberg. “Even though some have not put on tefillin for years—as many as 40 or 50 years, and some never at all—almost without failure they are inspired to by the fact that there are Jews here in Alaska.”
The next museum exhibit, slated to open in 2017, will focus on the unsuccessful Alaska Resettlement Plan that sought to bring Jews fleeing Europe and the Nazis to the Alaskan frontier during World War II.
“The Miracle That Didn’t Happen: Failure of the Alaska Resettlement Plan” depicts European Jews who tried to get to Alaska territory between the years 1938 and 1941, and how that plan was shot down in Congress. According to Fried, there were a number of factors why, including the United States coming out of isolationism, anti-Semitism, etc.
Because the nature of the exhibit is one of deep sadness—as any Holocaust exhibit would be—the museum will also add an unrelated display featuring artifacts from Jewish families across Alaska, both recent ones and those from the past. Items to be shown include a High Holiday machzor in Hebrew and Yiddish that was used by a resident of Juneau, Alaska in 1900; and a dog-race harness from Alaskan resident Fred Agree, who in the 1980s became the first Jewish musher to finish the famed Iditarod sled race.
“We don’t want to show all bad news,” says Fried. “It’s as important to celebrate as it is to remember.”
For more information about the Alaska Jewish Museum, click here.
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