Alaskan Jewish History

Alaska, the Last Frontier, is one of the youngest states in the US; a state still in its early stages of development, but already with a rich and varied history.  Part of this history includes the often-overlooked Jewish contribution and experience. From the first Russian Jewish pioneers to the Jewish fur traders who dominated the commerce of the Russian American Territory; from the first Mayor of Anchorage, Leopold David, to the Chief Justice of the Alaskan State Supreme Court, the honorable Jay Rabonovitz, Jews have played an integral role in the past, present, and future of Alaska.  In fact, even the purchase of Alaska from Russia is in many ways due to the San Francisco-to-Alaska Jewish fur traders and their influence on William H. Seward.

There are currently 4,500–5,000 Jews in Alaska, most of them located in the three largest cities:  Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau.  The new Alaska Jewish History Museum and Community Center will allow Alaskan residents and tourists from all over the world to look back at the Jewish place in Alaskan history and learn about the Jewish contribution to the development of the Last Frontier.

Following are a few synopses of the many highlights in Alaskan Jewish History.  The museum will serve as a means to showcase these points through pictures, memorabilia, artifacts, and first person accounts.

The Jewish Role in the Historic Purchase of Alaska

US Senator Cornelius Cole, of California, relates in his memoirs the major role that San Francisco Jewish fur traders played in the purchase of Alaska.  Cole states that it was Louis Goldstone, a young and enterprising Jew, who came back from a visit to Alaska with the important knowledge that the charter of the Russian American Fur Company, who had a monopoly on the products of fur animal hunting all over the Russian American Territory (present–day Alaska), was about to expire if not renewed by the Russian Government.  In addition, the Russian company was neglectful of its opportunities and cared little about the renewal of its charter.

Knowing the unbelievable potential available for American commerce in this untapped territory, the San Francisco Jewish fur traders, Louis Sloss and Lewis Gerstle, sought diplomatic assistance for secession from the Russian government. They went to Senator Cole, a school-day friend of William H. Seward, US Secretary of State, to assist them with negotiations with the Russian Government.  Through the mediation of talks, Cole discovered that the Russian Government was already planning on selling the Alaska Territory to the US; he then passed on this valuable information to Secretary of State Seward to aid him in his negotiations on behalf of the US to purchase Alaska from Russia.  Benjamin Levi, a young U.S. soldier and German Jew, had the honor of raising the American flag over Sitka after the completion of negotiations.

The Jewish Role in Developing Alaska

Jewish pioneering merchants Louis Sloss and Lewis Gerstle (for whom Northeast Alaska's Gerstle River is named) are credited with opening the Alaska Territory to settlers and commercial enterprises with the establishment of the Alaska Commercial Company in 1868.

The founding of the ACC marks one of the most important events pertainig to the development of Alaska since the purchase of the territory from Russia.  The United States Government gave the company an exclusive concession, for twenty years, for the taking of the fur bearing seal from the Pribilof and Aleutian Islands.  In return, the company was required to establish trading posts, schools, community centers, and otherwise develop the region towards a higher state of civilization.  It was an undertaking of the greatest magnitude, requiring capital, enterprise, business and executive ability, and also a comprehensive appreciation of the needs of the community. The ACC became the fount of the Sloss-Gerstle dynastic fortunes, and the de facto government of Alaska.

Jews of Prominence in Alaskan History

Many prominent Jewish figures have played integral roles in the establishment of Alaska’s government and communities. New York Jew Ernest Gruening, a leader in the drive to gain Alaska statehood, was appointed first Governor of the Territory of Alaska in 1939.  He held this position until 1958 (one year before Alaska became a state) and was then elected as the first Alaskan U.S. Senator. Leopold David, the first mayor of Anchorage, served three consecutive terms beginning in 1920.  Zachary J. Loussac, a Moscow Jew, served as mayor of the city in 1948 and established a trust fund to build the Loussac Municipal Library, the largest library in Alaska.  Jay Rabonovitz was, until his recent passing, the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court in Fairbanks was posthumously named in his honor. During the struggle of Alaska Natives with the US Government for the Land Settlement, it was a Chicago Jew and former Justice of the US Supreme of Court, Arthur J. Goldberg, who represented the Alaska Federation of Natives to have the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed.  His distinguished reputation and prestige gained the attention of key leaders in the Congress and the White House to the AFN cause.  Other important, current Jewish figures who are involved in the development of Alaska include: economist David Rose, father of the Permanent Dividend Fund, Ninth Circuit Judge Andrew Kleinfeld, Alaskan business owner Barnie Gottstein, world-renowned poker champion Perry Green, Alaskan Democratic Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz, and many more.