Hello American Israelites! My name is Eliana Garfunkel, and I am your new columnist! I was born in Hagerstown, MD and moved to Springfield, OH when I was two years old. My late mother, Rabbi Janice Garfunkel, was the rabbi at Temple Shalom in Springfield. My grandfather, Dr. Felix Garfunkel, is still an active member in the Dayton Jewish community. Both of my grandparents are Holocaust survivors, my grandfather from Romania and my grandmother from Germany — may her memory be a blessing. When I was eight years old we (including my older sister, Aliza) moved to Cincinnati, where we joined Adath Israel and I went to Maple Dale elementary. My mother passed away when I was 10 — may her memory be a blessing — but my Judaism did not die with her. I began attending Camp Livingston every summer since 2015, became a Bat Mitzvah, and when I was old enough got involved with BBYO, among other youth groups and fellowships. Israel naturally fit into the equation through AIPAC and eventually a semester at Alexander Muss High School in Israel. That was a pretty transformative time in my life. I went to fashion school in Milan, Italy at Istituto Marangoni for one year and then switched over to the London campus. Now, I am studying Creative Writing and American Literature at Royal Holloway University of London, where I am the president of our Jewish Society and an Emerson Fellow for StandWithUs UK. Although I’m across the pond, I am thankful to have such an amazing community back in Cincinnati. I can’t think of anything that I’m more passionate about other than Judaism, and I am thrilled to be sharing that with you all at the American Israelite.
Meet our newest columnist, Eliana Garfunkel
