Last updated at 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28
A Jewish community center in Anchorage was evacuated Monday afternoon after receiving a bomb threat.
Rabbi Yosef Greenberg with the Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska, which is located on the Alaska Jewish Campus on East 35th Avenue, said the evacuation occurred around 4 p.m. Greenberg explained that when the call came in, the caller ID showed a number that appeared to be coming from inside the building. He said a recorded message played, saying there was a bomb in the building and everyone had 20 minutes to get out.
The Jewish center has a preschool and afterschool program on site, and Greenberg said there were about 35 to 40 children still at the center when the call was made. Everyone was able to safely evacuate with their coats, he added.
Anchorage police and local FBI agents arrived “within minutes,” Greenberg said. He said they swept the building and found nothing unusual.
Greenberg said in a phone interview that staff knew it was a false alarm because of similar calls made to other Jewish centers throughout the U.S., but he said everyone followed protocol to ensure everyone’s safety. He said everything would go back to normal on Tuesday, including the children’s programs.
The FBI issued a warning weeks ago about potential bomb threats to Jewish community centers across the country. At the time, Anchorage FBI office spokeswoman Staci Feger-Pellesier said no threats were known to exist for Alaska facilities.
Attempts to speak with Anchorage police about the threat were not immediately successful, but a police dispatcher confirmed a 911 call was made about the threat at 3:58 p.m.
Around the country, 21 buildings in at least a dozen states received similar threatening calls, including one in Seattle.
Tuesday morning, Gov. Bill Walker issued a statement on the event.
“I am deeply unsettled that a religious community and school children were targeted by recent threats. Alaska’s diversity is among its greatest strengths. I stand with our state’s Jewish community in condemning these cowardly and unacceptable actions,” Walker said.
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz issued a statement a short time later.
“‘Never again’ means not anywhere, not anytime. Being only one generation removed from the Holocaust, it is jarring when cowards attempt to terrorize and intimidate the Jewish community. It is gratifying to see the outpouring of support from Alaskans of all creeds, backgrounds, and persuasions. Freedom can never bow to fear,” Berkowitz said.
KTVA 11’s Emily Carlson contributed to this report.
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