A Jewish Museum Opens in Alaska
With the grand opening of the Alaska Jewish Museum recently, the story of Alaska’s role in Operation Magic Carpet finally gets its due. At a July 4 reception, state officials and philanthropists involved in the project enjoyed a preview of the Museum’s permanent exhibit,On the Wings of Eagles: Alaska’s Contribution to Operation Magic Carpet.
The event celebrated as well the opening of the Esformes Jewish Campus of Alaska which includes the Gan Yeladim Early Learning Center, a highly acclaimed early education program in Anchorage, and the Lubavitch Center where all of Chabad’s social and spiritual outreach activities will now take place.
In his greetings before a crowd of about 500 well wishers and supporters, Rabbi Yosef Greenbergrecalled that when he and his wife Esty prepared to move to Alaska 22 years ago, the Lubavitcher Rebbe told the young couple that they should “warm up Alaska.” The Greenbergs kept those words close to heart, working to thaw this last frontier with the warmth of yiddishkeit, community and a vibrant Jewish life experience, unimaginable here when they embarked on their mission.
Philanthropist Establishes Matching Fund
The campus project, explained Esty Greenberg, was launched by a matching fund campaign by Chicago Philanthropists Rabbi Morris and Delicia Esformes back in 2007. It then turned into “a united effort on behalf of our entire Alaskan community to create a permanent home for the rich history of Jewish life and culture in Alaska.”
The Greenbergs’ reach extends far beyond Anchorage’s 3000 Jews, and even beyond Alaska’s total Jewish population of 6000. The Museum itself, hopes Greenberg, will go a long way towards building bridges between Alaska’s Jewish and non-Jewish communities.
“This is a museum about Alaska’s contribution to Jewish life and about the contribution of Jews to Alaska,” he said. “Imagine children visiting the museum as they learn that 60 years ago, Alaskan pilots risked their lives to save Jewish lives. This is a great way to open a discussion about our distinct cultures and our shared humanity, and the powerful results that can be achieved when cultural bridges are created.”
It is indeed a riveting story about Alaska Airlines’ pilots and flight attendants who took enormous risks to rescue Jews from hostile territory and bring them safely to the fledgling Jewish homeland. Museum Curator Leslie Fried led a tour of the exhibit, and two of the pilots, 95 year old Sam Silver and 86 year old Elgen Long, shared first-hand accounts of their experience. Working 16-20 hours shifts under difficult and dangerous conditions, for a period of 17 months from late 1948-1950, the pilots recalled flying twin engine DC-46 or DC-4, carrying substantial overloads of passengers as they averted Arab tracers and gunfire.
Rabbi Greenberg also points out that the Museum is Alaska’s contribution to the Rebbe’s call, which he issued back in the 1980s, for all people to embrace the seven Noahide Laws. These laws provide the foundations for a civilized society of justice, ethics, and kindness, by which all humankind is united. “I believe our new Jewish Museum is Alaska’s contribution to this noble mission.”
U.S. Senator Mark Begich, U.S. Congressman Don Young, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell, Rasmuson Foundation CEO Diane Kaplan and Anchorage Museum Director Jim Pepper Henry were among the guests who turned out to honor the generous commitment of Rabbi Morris and Delicia Esformes to support Jewish life in one of the most remote outposts in the world.
According to Rabbi Greenberg, Rabbi Esformes “inspired Alaska Jewish community founding members and pioneers Jerry and Enid Green and Perry and Gloria Green to match his donation with their own very generous donation towards the Campus. With his matching fund campaign, he also inspired the Rasmuson Foundation to support the Gan Yeladim Early Learning Center, as well as Speaker of the House, John Harris, and State Senator, Kevin Meyer, to secure a grant from the State of Alaska to support the Jewish Museum, and Franand Evan Rose, from the Dave and Frances Rose Foundation to support the Museum’s first permanent exhibit.”
Alaska Humanities Forum and Alaska Airlines were also recognized at the event for their support of the Alaska Jewish Museum and Operation Magic Carpet.
A Milestone Achievement
For the Greenbergs, who raised their own family in Anchorage while building the community, the event represented a significant milestone. “After years and years of having the synagogue in our home, the social hall in our home, the preschool in our home, the office in our home, not to mention, waking up to one of my favorite sounds: the screeching of a guinea pig from the preschool downstairs, we would never have believed that our community in Alaska was capable of having such an incredible campus.”
In his remarks, Rabbi Esformes described his own emotional reaction to the completed campus.
“When we came off the plane yesterday, and we got a tour of the building, all I could do was cry. This is truly magnificent.”
Rabbi Esformes spoke about the Greenbergs commitment to their community. “Their passion, their love for each and every one of their community members is so evident. When they first brought me to their home and started telling me about the constituency here in Alaska, you could see it in their eyes, you could see it in their smiles, you could feel it in their heart; they love you like their own children, and because of that, they have been able to achieve the transformation that has happened in this community. It is remarkable.”
Remarkable but far from complete, say the Greenbergs, who are now looking ahead to phase 3 of the project. After the purchase of the campus property for $4million back in 2008, the project called for a $2.5 million renovation on its buildings.
“The Early Learning Center is still in need of indoor and outdoor playground equipment, the sanctuary has yet to be furnished with an ark, chairs, a moveable wall, and more.”
Towards this phase, Rabbi Esformes announced another matching fund, said a grateful Rabbi Greenberg. “We hope others will continue to be inspired by his generosity, to ensure that Jewish life here thrives, and that the light of what we have worked to build here continues to warm the hearts and lives of Alaskans for generations to come.”
