New Alaska law makes vandalism of religious sites a felony

Vandalism of houses of worship and other religious sites is now a felony, under a bill that was signed into law on Sept. 3 by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

The measure, House Bill 238, was signed in a ceremony at the Lubavitch Jewish Center of Alaska, a campus in Anchorage that is home to an Orthodox Jewish congregation, a preschool and a museum devoted to Alaska’s Jewish history.

It was also the site of recent antisemitic vandalism, part of a national trend of increasing attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions.

Anchorage Rep. Andy Josephson, the bill’s sponsor, spoke about that trend, as well as a pattern of attacks against Muslims, mosques and Muslim institutions. The Council of American Islamic Relations reported that complaints of discrimination and attacks against

The new law, which classifies such vandalism and desecration as a felony instead of a misdemeanor, addresses intentional acts, Josephson said. “This requires more than an accident. This is not the soccer ball errantly kicked through a window by a child next door. … It requires a substantial probability that someone knew that what they were doing would harm a religious education or a place of worship,” he said.

A Class C felony in Alaska is punishable by a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to $50,000.

Also speaking at the event was Rabbi Yosef Greenberg, who talked about a 2021 incident at the Jewish campus in which swastika stickers were affixed to the museum, as well as bomb threats that forced preschoolers to evacuate the building. “Other communities have suffered as well,” he said, mentioning recent incidents at churches.

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