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April 29, 2009 | 10:47 am

Phillip Markoff: father Jewish, mother not

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Photo
Markoff, right, with his attorney

“Is Phillip Markoff Jewish?” That’s a question a lot of people were asking after the young medical student was arrested on suspicion of being the “Craigslist Killer.” I wrote Monday that the answer was unclear, but that what’s more interesting is our inclination to ask it. A robust discussion followed in the comments section.

Here is what we now know:

Markoff’s father, Richard, is a dentist in Syracuse, N.Y. I just called their offices and confirmed that Dr. Markoff is Jewish.

But Phillip grew up in Sherrill, N.Y., with his mother Susan Haynes, step-father, Gary Carroll. “In his senior yearbook, Markoff lists Carroll and Haynes as his parents,” according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “There is no mention of his father.”

Neither Haynes nor Carroll are Jewish, and the family occasionally celebrated Mass at St. Helena Roman Catholic Church. “More often,” the paper reported, “Carroll and Haley would come without the rest of the family.”

So there you have it. Under Jewish law, Phillip Markoff, whose mother was not Jewish and was raised in a Catholic home, would not be considered a Member of the Tribe.

“END OF STORY,” a commenter identified as Gordon wrote. “For shame to whoever wrote this article without doing ANY research. Mr. Brad A Greenberg. For SHAME.”

52 Comments — Leave your comment

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How do you know that his mother isn’t Jewish? If she married a Catholic (Carroll), she may have attended church with him without actually being Catholic, herself.

I’m not saying that she’s Jewish, and in fact, I think she probably isn’t. But the Utica paper does not explicitly go over her background, and one of the things I dislike the most is assumption reported as fact.

Comment by Dave on 4/29/09 at 1:02 pm

his attorney looks jewish….

Comment by Rob Eshman on 4/29/09 at 1:24 pm

“That’s a question a lot of people were asking ...  what’s more interesting is our inclination to ask it.” Who was actually asking that question besides you? Anyway, anyone old enough remembers the same process occurring with David Berkowitz, a psychopathic serial killer in the 70’s. The idea of a Jewish kid doing this seemed bizarre until we processed the information that Berkowitz got his name as a result of being adopted by a Jewish couple. Whew! Even better, Berkowitz rediscovered his Christian roots in prison; not however to hide the fact that he is a loon or convince the parole board.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/29/09 at 1:29 pm

I’m almost sorry to tell you this, but David Berkowitz is 100% Jewish. Yes, he was adopted by a Jewish couple. But his natural mother was a Jewish woman married to an Italian man who had an affair (with a Jewish man) and gave up the baby for adoption. But yes, he became a Christian in prison and was a Baptist for a time in the early ‘70s.

As for comments like “the idea of a Jewish kid doing this seemed bizarre” - I find those pretty ignorant. It’s stereotyping Jews - even if it is in a positive way.

Comment by Dave on 4/29/09 at 1:34 pm

Markoff’s father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic. I understand taht Philip was a practising Catholic. Sounds like a confused one, at that.

Why didn’t his wealthy Jewish father, a dentist, help him out with medical school? Sounds like a very disconnected family to me.

Comment by Victoria on 4/29/09 at 2:04 pm

My comment was about people who followed the story, not about Berkowitz. Not that it changes anything, but my definition of Jewish requires a lot more to do with a Jewish sperm dating a Jewish egg, except for the most obscure of Jewish legal issues. A random product of two people (whose own background you don’t know) whose Jewishness was irrelevant, a thief and pyromaniac who had studied witchcraft and joined a Satanic cult, who is now loud and proud as a Christian anyway - his degree of Jewishness is likewise irrelevant.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/29/09 at 2:10 pm

Victoria
Are you saying that Markoff killed an erotic masseuse because his wealthy Jewish dentist father didn’t help him out with medical school? I would like to introduce you to a potato I have in my kitchen; I think you have a lot in common.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/29/09 at 2:14 pm

Philip Markoff was corrupted by the goyim.

Had he been raised in a Jewish home, by his Jewish dentist father, Julissa Brisman would be still alive today.

Alive to give exotic rubdowns to strange men for money.

Comment by Ariel on 4/29/09 at 3:03 pm

The Jews may be “the chosen people” but it doesn’t make them immune to mental illness. Was Julissa Brisman Jewish? Maybe Markoff senior should have spent more time with his son and less with other peoples’ teeth.

Comment by passamango on 4/29/09 at 3:38 pm

Actually, I apologise for my comment about Markoff senior, as who knows what role he had in his sons life. So far, everything is heresay.

Comment by passamango on 4/29/09 at 3:41 pm

There is no Jew on earth who thinks and writes like Ariel, a phony just here to provoke reciprocal phony outrage with his use of the word ‘goyim’. I have seen this technique on a dozen or more threads on this blog. The dumbest thing to do would be to amuse the S.O.B. by responding to the term with attacks and defenses and explanations.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/29/09 at 4:16 pm

I agree. Ariel is a bonehead. Philip Markoff is fifty percent Jewish genetically, no matter how you slice it. This is no reflection on the Jews, nor is our pal, Bernie Madoff. Crepozoids like Markoff come from all races and religions. As fascinating as Phil Markoff’s criminality may be, we don’t know anything about his family situation. Maybe the mother wrote off Phil’s biological father, we don’t know. I myself am a “Jewlatto,” or “Leprejew” (half Irish Catholic, half German Jewish, depending on which snarky friend you ask, and nobody is responsible for my behavior but myself. Calling this nutjob “clean cut,” as many journalists have, is a subtle suggestion that tall, blond guys are not likely to do bad things. Not so. Meanwhile, it’s highly unusual for a woman to be a violent criminal, yet this doesn’t mean that men are morally inferior. Or does it?

Comment by diane gordon on 4/29/09 at 4:42 pm

interesting question, diane.  is moral inferiority limited to violence?

Comment by Proton Soup on 4/29/09 at 6:10 pm

Only if you are a Democrat. If you are a Republican, moral inferiority is limited to sex. If they had simply had sex we would never have known of it or be commenting on it. It’s Obama’s fault.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/30/09 at 3:13 am

What’s with this Madoff and now Markoff.  I tell you its a Jew conspiracy to get rid of this planet.

Comment by Vilma D'Souza on 4/30/09 at 5:50 am

Jews are God’s only “chose” people.  If Markoff had been Jewish and raised by his dentist father, he would not have committed any crimes.  But no, he had to go and live with goyims and now look where he is.

Comment by Jewnuts roasting on an open fire on 4/30/09 at 5:53 am

Does it matter if he’s Jewish or not?  I understand the “if your mother is Jewish” rule, but put no stock in it—genetics are genetics, you cannot erase them.  As for the comments by Jewnuts…Shame on you!  Racism is ugly, no matter who it comes from.  I understand “chosen people”  but we’re all God’s children.  You should be as ashamed of yourself as you have made God ashamed of you.  Your words show a blackness of heart that is an embarrassment to all!

Comment by Wendy on 4/30/09 at 7:45 am

Jewnuts,
You might be wrong. Here me out, as I am not more of a nutjob than any other internet poster with nothing better to do, har! Okay, the old man is a dentist. Dentists must inflict a lot of pain. In a recent psyche study that CAT scanned the brains of bullies while showing them videos of people being hurt, some of them revealed that the “pleasure center” of the brain, the nucelus accumbens, whatever, lit up. Does Markoff’s old man have this kind of brain, and does his son? Could be.
A successful person works with what he is - it’s the only way. So the old man “enjoys” being a dentist, the son “enjoys” murdering women. Sounds like a working theory, eh? One doesn’t have to grow up with a parent to inherit the parents personality, yes sir. So much for armchair neurophysiology. As I mentioned before, the most salient aspect of human behavior is CHOICE. Btw, I think we’re all racists, it’s all about self-awareness and what we do with who were are. Markoff and his lady friend appear to be extremely materialistic. So become a rich doctor, already. This is good! Be good and the world will be good to you.

Comment by diane gordon on 4/30/09 at 8:54 am

P.S. Vilma: “Jewish Conspiracy”??? ya, right. At some point in this century, our country will be predominantly Hispanic. Is this a conspiracy, too?

Comment by diane gordon on 4/30/09 at 8:58 am

Ben, pray tell, what is Obama’s fault? Let’s not forget that the Chosen People chose Obama by one of the largest margins of any ethnic group - 77 percent. If you eliminate the black vote, no-brainer - 98, I think, it’s the highest.  Gobama, sez I. He’s a good man. The Chosen chose right, uh, correctly.

Comment by diane gordon on 4/30/09 at 9:05 am

I think Markoff’s father is responsible for the condition of his son.  If he had spend less time messing with other people’s mouths and inflicting pain unnecessarily, he would have had more time to spend with little Philip and bring him up like a Jew instead of a Goyim.  Philip Markoff’s girl should have also learned to clean up the bed, then perhaps she would have found those 16 pairs of panties before the cops did.  I wonder if they were smelly.

Comment by Jew Nuts on 4/30/09 at 10:04 am

I find it amusing how Ashkenzi “Jews” think that because people have German, Russian or Polish last names that makes them Jews.
What do you think Moshe Rabbeinu’s last name was?..... Goldberg? How about Abraham Avinu?.... Weinstein? Jewish people come from the middle east NOT from eastern europe. Ashkenazi “Jews” look the way the do and have the last names they have because of intermarriage, I would NOT be suprised if the vast majority of Ashkenazi “Jews” around today are NOT hallachically Jewish.

Comment by Omer Benjamini on 4/30/09 at 10:22 am

Jew Nuts:
Nope. Psycho parents are no excuse.

Comment by diane gordon on 4/30/09 at 10:47 am

Omer, i thought european jews adopted surnames out of convenience to better fit in.  their names may sound german or russian or polish, but actually aren’t.

Comment by Proton Soup on 4/30/09 at 10:57 am

A few days back another commenter wrote that Philip’s father, Richard Markoff, was not only Jewish, but also the son or grandson of Holocaust survivors.  Does anyone know more details?  Is Philip’s stepmother Jewish?

Comment by Karenna on 4/30/09 at 11:47 am

See: http://www.scribd.com/doc/14741837/sexaddict53885c

alleged Markoff profile on dating-site alt.com:
“circumcised: yes”. Unless he’s a muslim, his parents must have considered him jewish….

Comment by joe on 4/30/09 at 12:12 pm

circumcision is extremely common among christians in america.

Comment by Proton Soup on 4/30/09 at 12:50 pm

The Holocaust survivor thing came from a particularly anti-Semitic website that has claimed that basically every single famous American murderer, including most if not all school shooters, are Jewish (including Jeff Weise, Eric Harris, Kip Kinkel, Menendez Bros., that guy who might have killed Natalee Holloway; in fact, none of these people have any Jewish ancestry). The site make up various Jewish backgrounds for them, and Markoff’s grandfather being a Holocaust surivor was one of them. Markoff’s grandfather, Jerome Markoff, was actually born in the Bronx to Russian Jewish immigrants in 1928. So I would assume he was not in the Holocaust.

Comment by Dave on 4/30/09 at 1:13 pm

Jewish Journal said: “So there you have it. Under Jewish law, Phillip Markoff, whose mother was not Jewish and was raised in a Catholic home, would not be considered a Member of the Tribe.”

Not true, Philip Markoff is ethnically half-Jewish since his father is Jewish. On the religious end, he isn’t considered a ‘true’ Jew because his mother isn’t Jewish. Please read the following article entitled “Meet the Half-Jews” from the jewishpost.com here:
http://www.jewishpost.com/archives/news/meet-the-half-jews.html

Comment by Dawid Blumsztajn on 4/30/09 at 8:09 pm

The problem is in having so many standards and definitions about who and what a Jew is. There is no natively Jewish category of ‘half-Jew; that is adopted from foreign and inferior cultural systems, mostly to mollify the feelings of those who are confused or guilty about themselves or their offspring. For over thirty-three centuries the definition of a Jew consisted of one’s mother determining implicit citizenship in the Jewish nation, and the one’s father determining tribal identification and applicable inheritance issues. That’s simple enough. Within that would be one’s status as a law-abiding citizen or an outlaw.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 4/30/09 at 8:39 pm

Thanks for the link, Dawid - I’ve been arguing about Lauro Nyro for years! The article states that the “half Jewish” population is exceeding that of the regular Jewish population in the US - what shall we call it, “pure” - good God! sorry - off topic here. Talk about who is a “true Jew” is creepy to the present writer when remembering we all share 96 percent of our genes with the great apes. My daughter goes to a school where virtually all the students quite a mix of ethnic backgrounds. This is good. And growing up in an academic community, many of my friends had one Jewish parent. One can respect one’s heritage without getting caught up in who is a “pure” anything. I’ve never met a “half Jew” or whatever you want to call them, who isn’t extremely protective of Israel, and proud of his or her background. To what end is splitting hairs, other than divisiveness? Meanwhile, Israel accepts as citizens as people who are Jewish, and belong to no other religion, including those who are converts. Sorry, Ben, this is true. As for our pal Markoff, I’d suggest that anyone who kills a person to rob them doesn’t really belong to the human race, never mind being Jewish or “half Jewish.” The case fascinates many for many reasons. My question is how a “geeky” kid from the internet generation doesn’t know that any missive sent from one’s computer is tagged by one’s IP address. And if you are clever enough to sign on with a proxy IP company, which assigns another IP to your internet activity, this is also self-defeating. The police can supoena the company to turn over its records. How does a seemingly smart guy not know this? My question is not “is Markoff Jewish,” rather, “how stupid can a wired internet generation kid be?”

Comment by dianegordon on 5/01/09 at 5:33 am

dianegordon
‘Sorry Ben, this is true.’
No it isn’t. I can’t say it any simpler than that.

As for your ‘creepy’ reaction to who is a true Jew, you are not reading my posts. Let’s try again. “For over thirty-three centuries the definition of a Jew consisted of one’s mother determining implicit citizenship in the Jewish nation, and the one’s father determining tribal identification and applicable inheritance issues. That’s simple enough. Within that would be one’s status as a law-abiding citizen or an outlaw.”

Why is this a problem. America, Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, spain and Russia all have citizenship laws, and laws that apply to their offspring.

A child of a Jewish mother is a natural citizen. A child of a non-Jewish mother regardless of his father is not. That child or any other may convert to become a naturalized citizen, asuunming a committment to uphold Jewish law. Just like America. This is not splitting hairs; it is serious stuff.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 5/01/09 at 3:24 pm

It is a tragedy that a brilliant young man could lead a double life. Apparently he was able to function. It is a miracle that he did not harm his girlfriend. Shame, a handsome man with a great future to find himself in such a tragic situation.He must be very sick.

Comment by B. Singer on 5/01/09 at 3:54 pm

MARKOFF is a JAP (JEWISH AMERICAN PRINCE),,,END OF STORY,

Comment by hebrew on 5/01/09 at 4:43 pm

“Under Jewish law, Phillip Markoff, whose mother was not Jewish and was raised in a Catholic home, would not be considered a Member of the Tribe.”

Is this article a joke? It’s the year 2009 and your using caveats of Jewish Law to justify why your “tribe” is not responsible for producing a criminal? How insecure are you? I bet you’d be taking credit for him if he was the inventor of affordable clean energy.  “Oh his father is part of the “Tribe”...of course that’s why he’s so brilliant!”.  What a joke.

Comment by Kevin on 5/01/09 at 8:36 pm

j’accuse!

emile zola would have been relieved for the aipac case dismissal and for the markoff clarification.

when there is nothing else to keep the news breaking, a jewish “cabal” is the best headline.

Comment by furtive on 5/02/09 at 11:25 am

Kevin
Let’s see, you are not Jewish, but you surf to a Jewish website, probably after a search, in order to comment by putting words in someones else’s mouth and then arguing with those words. When you talk to yourself, you ought to keep the conversation private. Please print the following and post it up above your monitor.

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
You are a Schizo
And so are You

Comment by Ben Plonie on 5/02/09 at 7:24 pm

Mea culpa, Ben, I thought the Iraeli govt. site said that a person was eligible for citizenship if they are Jewish, convert or not. I don’t know if the “naturalization law” applies to non-Jews, but it does state if you’ve lived there for three years, you can then apply. But back to the thread, Markoff is a guest of the Mass. Dept. of Corrections and is likely not going anywhere, thank God. Talking about “creepy,” I wouldn’t blame anybody but Philip Markoff for his behavior. It hardly matters if his father is Jewish, or a chimp.

Comment by dianegordon on 5/03/09 at 7:33 am

P.S. I thought the last lines of the poem were…
I’m a schizophrenic
And so am I.

Comment by diane gordon on 5/03/09 at 7:42 am

diane gordon
Jewish law and Israeli law are not identical on this, with the difference that Jewish law has been refined and no longer subject to fundamental change, while Israeli law is. On matters like this Israeli law broadly follows Jewish law but violates it in some ways; one reason that Israel does not enjoy complete support of the religious sector. When we ask if Phillip Markoff is Jewish, Israeli law is irrelevant and the only applicable one is Jewish law. Jewish law is very clear on this; what makes it confusing is attempted controversial innovations in Jewish law that would make him Jewish on the basis of a Jewish father alone. Either way, your last comment is your best one.

As for the poem, you are right but I took some license with it because some people are dumb enough to take it the wrong way.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 5/03/09 at 1:33 pm

guys, schizophrenia is not a dissociative personality disorder.

Comment by Proton Soup on 5/04/09 at 12:25 pm

I suppose the original composer of that little non-rhyme fell prey to the popular misconception.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 5/04/09 at 1:52 pm

Far more treatable than a personality disorder, too. Not that somebody with a PD would ever suspect they needed help. Ah, well, blame the misnomer - after all, the term does mean “split mind.”

Comment by dianegordon on 5/05/09 at 9:20 am

P.S. Speaking of personality disorders, is this what ails Bernie Madoff? Is being a serious jerk a mental illness?

Comment by dianegordon on 5/05/09 at 9:23 am

ok,
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I’ve got a PD
So go $#^& you!

Comment by dianegordon on 5/05/09 at 9:46 am

eh?  well, having known someone with multiple personalities (i believe they call it dissociative identity disorder these days), i can tell you it’s about as funny as childhood sexual abuse.  and however treatable it is, it’s a much more livable condition than schizophrenia.

Comment by Proton Soup on 5/05/09 at 10:17 am

Being a serious jerk is probably a form of sociopathy, absence of empathy, maybe even a high functioning autism disorder. Next Madoff will be using the Twinkie Defense.

Comment by Ben Plonie on 5/06/09 at 1:58 am

jew or nut jew there is no difference, if a person has the ability to go and murder another person then that person will have nop problem doing so. the writter is definately a racist a bigot and less than human to assume and then write this pathetic article. Should we then also look at the race or religion of the nut who wrote the article and then come to a conclusion that his people are just as focked up?

Comment by jewknow nothing on 6/23/09 at 9:40 am

jewknow,
of course not! There’s a bad apple in every bunch, that’s for sure. The difference is that if one belongs to an immediately identifiable group, other people are liable to point fingers for the simple reason that they are able to identify the aforementioned bad apple as a member of this or that group. Part of the “fun” people have with Markoff, I think, is that one doesn’t usually expect a so-called “clean cut” medical student to behave as he did. I’m not sure what people in the media meant by “clean cut,” though I’m guessing it means “not ethnic,” tall, blond. Meanwhile, remember Biden’s comment about Obama being something like this? One of the balancing acts we have to perform as human beings to remain sane is to look for the good in people, while realizing that there are some evil folks out there. Is this “cognitive dissonance”???

Comment by diane gordon on 6/23/09 at 12:10 pm

Selfish, spoiled, rude, arrogant, entitled. Repent, repent, time goes quickly, repent you evil selfish, racist,seperatists…. America was founded on the basis of religious freedom and freedom from religion.
You are owed and entitled to nothing!!! find good in simple things! try some fresh air? Love and respect?

Comment by uknowwho? on 9/19/09 at 3:39 am

Well, gee, uknowwho?, Happy New
Year to you, too!

Comment by Diane Gordon on 9/19/09 at 7:12 am

Just like the Columbine killers they still have jewish blood.

Comment by Charley Varrick on 9/19/09 at 6:07 pm

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