JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

ter,” or oleomargarine, in a factory in Oss, in 1890 replaced by
a bigger one at Rotterdam. Henry and Jacob opened a branch
in London, while in 1888 a margarine factory was opened in
Cleve (Germany). A few years later, in 1895, a factory was
opened in Brussels. Subsequently, the firm developed rapidly
and became one of the leading margarine manufacturers
in Europe. In 1930 the Van den Bergh Margarine Union
Ltd. merged with Lever Bros. Ltd., forming Unilever Ltd.,
which expanded into a giant international concern. Simon’s
son, SAMUEL VAN DEN BERGH (1864–1941), obtained a leading
position in the firm, but was active in politics as well and
within the Jewish community. He was a Member of Parliament
for the Liberal Party from 1905 to 1909, and a Member
of the First House from 1923 to 1938. He was also the Dutch
delegate to the International Jewish Agency and a member of
the board of the Dutch branch of Keren Hayesod. His son, the
lawyer and professor GEORGE VAN DEN BERGH (1897–1966),
was active in the Socialist Party and was a Member of Parliament
from 1925 to 1933. As the chairman of the board of the
Zionist agricultural project in the Wieringermeer, he served
the Jewish community. George’s brother, SIDNEY JAMES VAN
DEN BERGH (1898–1978), was also active in public affairs. After
serving as a commissioner for UNICEF, he was appointed
minister of defense in 1959. The next generation too produced
a Member of Parliament: George’s son ROBERT VAN
DEN BERGH (1913–1997) represented the Socialist Party from
1963 to 1971. Thereafter he became a member of the Council
of the State (1972–83).
Bibliography: C. Wilson, Story of Unilever (1954); J. Becker,
Het smouse kerkhof te Geffen 1643–1908 (1987) 44–77; F.J.M, van de
Ven, “Bergh, Samuel van den (1864–1941),” in: Biografisch Woordenboek
van Nederland 3 (1989); J. Mulder, Sidney van den Bergh, een
liberaal (1975).
[Bart Wallet (2nd ed.)]
BERGHEIM, village N. of Colmar in Alsace, E. France. Jews
are first mentioned there in connection with the persecutions
in the 14th century by the *Armleder gangs and following the
*Black Death. During the Burgundian wars (1476–78) they
again suffered severely. By the beginning of the 16th century,
however, Bergheim had the largest Jewish community in Alsace.
The Jewish settlement was pillaged by rebel peasants in
1525, and an anti-Jewish outbreak in 1784 followed the abolition
of the “body tax” on Jews. The Jewish population declined
from 327 in 1784 to 40 in 1926. In 1968 there were no
Jews living in Bergheim.
Bibliography: M. Ginsburger, Les Juifs à Ribeauvillé et à
Bergheim (1939).
[Zvi Avneri]
BERGMAN, ALAN (1925– ) and MARILYN (1929– ), U.S.
songwriters, composers. Alan and Marilyn Bergman (Katz),
a prolific husband-and-wife team, are best known for their
many film score classics such as the Academy Award-winning
songs “The Way We Were” (The Way We Were (1973))
bergman, andrew
and “The Windmills of Your Mind” (The Thomas Crown Affair
(1968)). The couple received the Academy Award for Best
Musical Score for Yentl (1983), writing the lyrics to accompany
Michel Legrand’s music for the film. They were nominated for
16 other Academy Awards.
Alan Bergman was educated at the University of California-Los
Angeles and received a B.A. from the University of
North Carolina. His career began during WWII when he wrote
and directed Special Services shows for American troops. After
the war, he directed television shows for CBS from 1945
until 1953. He joined ASCAP in 1955 and began writing songs
for television, revues, and nightclub acts, for performers such
as Fred Astaire and Marge and Gower Champion. His notable
stage scores include That’s Life, Ice Capades of 1957, and
Something More!, while his albums include Never Be Afraid
and Aesop’s Fables. He married his wife and songwriting partner,
Marilyn, in 1958. Marilyn attended New York University.
She joined ASCAP in 1953, two years before her husband. She
also wrote songs for revues and nightclub performances and
is credited with several television theme songs. Some of the
couple’s other most memorable songs include “Nice ’n’ Easy,”
“Yellow Bird,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “It Might Be
You,” “Moonlight,” “Cheatin’ Billy,” “Don’t Know Where I’m
Goin’, ” “I’ve Never Left Your Arms,” “That Face,” “Baby, the
Ball Is Over,” “Ol’ MacDonald,” “Sentimental Baby,” “If I Were
in Love,” and “That’s Him Over There.”
[Walter Driver (2nd ed.)]
BERGMAN, ANDREW (1945– ), U.S. writer, director, producer.
Born in Queens, N.Y., Bergman attended Harper College
before earning his doctorate in American history at the
University of Wisconsin. His doctoral dissertation, “We’re in
the Money: Depression America and Its Films” (1971), earned
him respect as a trenchant sociologist and film historian and
led to a job as a youth contact in the PR department at United
Artists. After writing the critically acclaimed Broadway comedy
Social Security, Bergman received his first screenwriting
credit for the Mel Brooks blockbuster farce Blazing Saddles
(1974), which was based on Berman’s treatment for a film
called “Tex X.” Bergman earned the sole screenwriting credit
for the 1979 comedy The In-Laws, starring Alan *Arkin and
Peter *Falk. He made his directorial debut two years later
with So Fine, a Madison Avenue satire about a professor who
conquers the garment industry with an idea for transparent
jeans. Bergman was widely praised for his adaptation of Michael
Ritchie’s novel Fletch (1985), featuring Chevy Chase as
droll newspaper reporter Irwin Fletcher. Bergman continued
to write and direct during the 1990s while also producing
a number of films in conjunction with producer Michael
Lobell and their joint venture Lobell/Bergman Productions.
The versatile Bergman both wrote and directed The Freshman
(1990), starring Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, as
well as the features Honeymoon in Vegas (1992) and Striptease
(1996), while writing the screenplays for Soapdish (1991) and
The Scout (1994). His production credits include Chances Are
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3 427