36' 'Friltai,.Auiusi 26, 1977
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
David Berkowitz Tragedy: A Case of Another Maligned Jewish Name
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
was an infant. he was
adopted by a Jewish family
named Berkowitz. but the
press all over the world is
full of stories about Berk:
owitz. the alleged mass
murderer. It is not said
that he was Jewish. but the
name Berkowitz is suf-
ficient to convey and em-
phasize the point.
Anti-Semites have known
that for their purposes all
one requires is a name that
sounds Jewish. Some of the
enemies of President Frank-
lin Roosevelt attacked him
by "Judaizing" his name.
referring to him as Frank-
, lin Rosenvelt. Of course
FDR was not, a Jew. but if
you gave him a Jewish
name. it would malign him.
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
Jews are always sure of
getting plenty of publicity.
Did we need the David
Berkowitz case? Son of
Sam! Sam is a very nice
name. It is an inspiring Jew-
ish name. A fine American
name. There is Uncle Sam.
The so-called Son of Sam.
David Berkowitz. was not
Jewish by birth. His par-
ents were named Falco and
were not Jews. When he
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There is the old Yiddish
story of the anti-Semitic
Russian general riding in a
train calling his d-og
"Itzig." Close by was sit-
ting, a rabbi, who remonst-
rated. "You shouldn't call
your dog by that name."
"Why not?" asked the
Russian anti-Semitic gener-
al.
"Because." said the
rabbi. "with a Jewish
name. the dog has no
chance to become a gener-
al...
Berkowitz happens to be
a very respected .Jewish
name. Isaac Dov Berkowitz
stands high among the
writers of Israel. For a
time he was the editor of
Moznavim. published in Tel
Aviv. He wrote many sto-
ries sympathetic with the
plight of people struggling
in life. He is also known for
his relationship to one of
the most beloved of Jewish
figures—Sholom Aleichem.
Isaac Dov Berkowitz is the
son-in-law of Sholom Alei-
chem.
Then there was Rabbi
Henry Berkowitz. one of the
most prominent of Ameri-
"Residents of the Wood-
stream Farms area in
Farmington Hills, both Jew-
ish and non-Jewish, have
been subjected to harass-
ment and vandalism by ob-
viously mentally disturbed
youths, probably residents
of the area," said David L.
Bittker, chairman of the
Michigan Regional Adviso-
ry Board of the Anti-Defa-
mation League of Bnai
Brith.
Citing complaints ADL
has received relative to
handwritten and typed
notes announcing "Did you
know that Son of Sam was
a spoiled Jewish child?"
some minor cutting of
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There were many other
Berkowitzes of note and in
this connection. possibly we
should mention Conrad Ber-
coVici. short story writer.
He was especially noted for
his stories of gypsy life. He
began his literary career
writing for a Yiddish paper.
None of the Berkowitzes
were ever associated with
shooting. However. murder
is extremely rare among
.Jews. The Jews-have a pe-
culiar idea that a person is
born to live and not to be
shot down. Even hunting is
torbidden to a .Jew. Killing
an never be a sport to
He who saves the life of
one man is considered as
he Who saves the whole
world. said a sage of the
Talmud.
of this gun selling and the
great tragedy would not
have occurred.
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wires and burning of Stars
of David, Bittker noted, "Of
course the facts are as gar-
bled as the vandalism is stu-
pid. Berkowitz," as most
people know, was born
Falco, was then adopted by
the Berkowitzes, and con-
verted to Baptist when he
was in the army. Religion
has nothing to do with his
obvious derangement.
"The perpetrators will be
caught and prosecuted," he
said. "We .have been in
touch with the Farmington
Hills Police and are work-
ing with them regarding
this matter."
Persons having sugges-
tions regarding whom the
perpetrators might be, are
urged to call the ADL of-
fice, 962-9686, or Chief
Halverson of the Farm-
ington Hills Police Depart-
ment, 474-2335. Anonymity
will be guaranteed to cal-
lers and their phone calls
will be held in strictest con-
fidence.
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If we had that point of
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League Bowling
Farmington Residents Report
Outbreak of Anti-Semitism
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I
Were this principle accept-
ed by the world, murders
would become far less fre-
quent. We cannot easily pre-
vent people from becoming
mentally deranged. but we
can prevent them from get-
ting guns, and without a
gun, the so-called Son of
Sam could not have oper-
ated. For a few dollars any
deranged man today can
purchase a gun and become
omnipotent. He is more
than a judge. He can sen-
tence one to death without
a jury.
can rabbis in the earlier
part of this century. He
was the founder of the Jew-
ish Chautauqua Society,
which in its day did much
toward educating the Jew-
ish public in the history and
tenets of their faith. He was
a very vigorous, outgoing
personality with a good
sense of humor. He was one
of the chief supporters of
the Humane Society in
America for the better treat-
ment of animals.
I
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