horticulturalist, bird watcher, 60
Nathaniel Rabinowitz was a bright and sensitive individual, "who had a lot of things going for him, but somehow he got
sidetracked," said his father, Stanley Rabinowitz, former rabbi at Congregation Adas Israel in the District.
His 60-year-old son died July 2 from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head following a dispute with neighbors
that had led to a June 29 confrontation with D.C. police.
Rabinowitz's parents and his sister, Judi Argaman, painted a portrait of a complex and sometimes slightly eccentric person who
held strong beliefs about many topics. "He was always bright, but he had very definite opinions about things, and they weren't
always the accepted ideas of what other people thought was right," said Argaman.
Rabinowitz was described as a staunch environmentalist, an ardent Zionist, a pacifist, a good cook and an intellectual whose
often esoteric reading tastes ran to history and philosophy. He was also devoted to his hobbies, which included growing "exotic
plants" and bird-watching. "He was a nature-lover," said his mother. "He loved birds and their music. He understood their
language."
Although he had friends, he was primarily a loner, according to Argaman.
Rabinowitz became a bar mitzvah at Adath Yeshurun Congregation in Minneapolis, where his father was the rabbi before he
took a position at Adas Israel. He was confirmed at Adas, and graduated, with excellent grades, from Wilson High School in the
District, where he was awarded a National Science Foundation citation in his senior year, according to his mother. He attended
Cornell University, but dropped out in his sophomore year during an era of great political turmoil.
"It was the '60s, and there was all kinds of rebellion going on," his mother said, but the precise reason for his early departure
from college is unclear. An anti-Vietnam activist, "he was scared to death of being drafted," said Argaman, and apparently he
was never called up.
After dropping out, Rabinowitz traveled to the south of France, where he helped manage a hotel. "He got a kick out of that," said
his father. "He spoke French fluently." His son then traveled to Israel, where he worked on a kibbutz picking fruit. He visited Israel
several times over the next two decades, and once even flirted with moving to a kibbutz on the Lebanese border.
A quarrel over a ladder chained to his home led to his June 29 confrontation with police. Neighbors had maintained that
burglars had used the two-story ladder to break into their homes.
Rabinowitz maintained that he used the ladder to climb to the roof of his home to feed birds; however, when police climbed the
ladder, they said they found marijuana plants growing in Rabinowitz's home. He had failed to appear in court regarding his
marijuana possession charges.
Rabinowitz had barricaded himself in his Northwest Washington home when police arrived to serve him with papers for a court
hearing relating to the ladder dispute. After he apparently set a fire to fend off authorities & and hurled trash and other items at
them & Rabinowitz was found in his upstairs bathroom with a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
His mother said the confrontation may have stemmed from a "terrible experience" he had had with police in early June after he
was arrested and jailed on a charge of possession of marijuana. While in jail, according to a note her son had written, he was
roughed up by either police or corrections officials, his mother said.
When he was released from custody a day later, she added, he had to walk 32 blocks to his home, only to find that it had been
ransacked during a police search.
"Everything was upside-down and things were broken," said Argaman, who lives in Israel.
"He was devastated," said his mother. "He was very fastidious, and it was very painful for him to see his house like that. He
couldn't bear to think of going back to jail."
Attempts to reach a designated police spokesperson for comment were unsuccessful.
Rabinowitz never had a career in the conventional sense. Over the years, he worked as a limousine driver and a liquor store
employee. He also did odd jobs, including yard work. "His material needs were minimal," said his mother.
Rabinowitz was an organ donor, and as a result of his death, "he gave life to an awful lot of people," said Argaman.He was
interred July 5 in the Adas Israel cemetery, with his father officiating at the graveside ceremony. In addition to his parents and
Argaman, Rabinowitz is survived by his sister, Sharon Chard-Yaron of San Diego. The family requests contributions to any
charity. Richard Greenberg
2007