Museums Alaska and the Alaska museum community stand in support of the Alaska Jewish Museum and its mission to provide a home for Jewish history, art, and culture in Alaska.
We are deeply disturbed by the recent attacks of antisemitic vandalism that the Alaska Jewish Museum has experienced in Anchorage. Curator Leslie Fried has twice found swastika stickers stuck to the museum doors and windows and in the second incident, a swastika was gouged through a sticker into a door.
Museums Alaska, Alaskan museums, and museum staff members across the state stand in solidarity with Curator Leslie Fried, the Alaska Jewish Museum, and the Alaska Jewish Campus—offering support as the museum seeks to address these crimes and ensure the safety of its facilities and community.
This vandalism is an attack on all of us and the inclusive Alaska history our institutions were founded to tell. History reveals that malicious acts increase during uncertain times, and they flourish when encouraged or ignored by people in leadership positions. We will not ignore this spiteful act and we will work with the Alaska Jewish Museum to combat bigotry and prejudice in all its forms.
Education is one of the most important tools we can use to end hate crimes. Alaska’s museums are institutions of lifelong learning and we are well-positioned to share information about the diverse communities that contribute to the cultural and social richness of our state.
Museums across Alaska encourage our communities to recognize that diversity is a strength and to learn about the vibrant cultures and resourceful individuals that have shaped Alaska. And we will continue to strive to reach community members we don’t know with our programming because it is those individuals and groups who may benefit the most from respectful dialogue about Alaska’s history and peoples.
Together we stand steadfast in our support of the Alaska Jewish Museum and affirm our intent to combat acts of hate against our museum community.
Museums Alaska
Alaska Aviation Museum
Alaska Botanical Garden
Alaska Emerging Museum Professionals Chapter
Alaska Humanities Forum
Alaska Jewish Museum
Alaska State Museums:
Alaska State Museum, Juneau & Sheldon Jackson MuseumAlaska Veterans Museum
Alpine Historical Society
Alutiiq Museum
American Bald Eagle Foundation
Anchorage Museum
Aunt Claudia’s Dolls, a Museum
Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum
CATPAW
Chickaloon Village Traditional Council
Chilkat Valley Historical Society
Clausen Memorial Museum
Cordova Historical Museum
ExhibitAK
Fairbanks Children’s Museum
Fairbanks Community / Dog Mushing Museum
Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum
Haines Sheldon Museum
Homer Council on the Arts
Hope and Sunrise Historical and Mining Museum
Juneau-Douglas City Museum
Kawerak Katirvik Cultural Center
Ketchikan Museums
Kodiak History Museum
Little Lithuanian Museum & Library
Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry
Museum of the Aleutians
Palmer Museum of History and Art
Pioneer Air Museum
Pratt Museum & Park
Preservation Alaska
Resurrection Bay Historical Society
Sealaska Heritage Institute
Talkeetna Historical Society and Museum
Thole Exhibits And Mounts (TEAM)
University of Alaska Museum of the North
Valdez Museum and Historical Archive
