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Ellie’s Oak Tree Corner Dedicated in Keren HaCarmel Forest

03 January 2019 5:40 PM

Recreation area dedicated in the Carmel Ridge region in memory of Ellie Goldenberg Z"L by her family.

The Goldenberg family from the USA dedicate a new recreation area in the Keren HaCarmel Forest in memory of their daughter and sister Ellie, of blessed memory, whose life was tragically cut short at the age of 22. In Hebrew, the site is named ‘Pinat HaAlon Shel Eli’ – Ellie’s Oak Tree Corner.

It was grey, wet cold on Sunday, December 30, 2018, when family and friends of Ellie Goldenberg, of blessed memory, gathered at the Keren HaCarmel Forest near Haifa to dedicate a new KKL-JNF recreation area in her name. Ellie Goldenberg was an outstanding 22-year-old student, who was killed in a tragic boating accident in May 2017, the day after she graduated with honors from the University of Miami’s Musical Theater program.

The director of KKL-JNF’s fundraising department, Michael Ben Abu, welcomed the guests led by Ellie’s close family. Her parents Renee and David, her sister Dana, and her brother Michael with his wife Amelia flew in from the USA, and her grandparents came over from Haifa.

At the dedication ceremony, Ben Abu described the entire scope of the work that was carried out by KKL-JNF in Ellie’s name, including the construction of the picnic spot and the planting of 900 trees in various locations around the country.

Dr. Omri Boneh, Director of KKL-JNF's Northern Region, said that it was an honor and a pleasure to meet Ellie’s family and friends at the new picnic site in the southern Carmel Ridge, a region which attracts so many visitors.

“This beautiful elevated spot is the right place to remember Ellie and tell her story. I want to report to you that KKL-JNF staff executed the work carried out at this new site with much love and care. It was not supposed to be so muddy today at our ceremony, but we cannot complain because we Jews pray for rain for half of the year.”

Ellie’s younger sister Dana Goldenberg spoke on behalf of the grieving family.

“I am so happy to see an oak tree in the center of this new picnic site that is dedicated to the memory of Ellie. The oak is a symbol of strength and endurance due to its deep roots. Ellie was much like the oak, with deep roots in the land of Israel, and in the Jewish religion, culture and peoplehood. She loved this country, she lived by her Jewish values, and she most definitely spent her life doing everything and anything for those she loved. I, like the most of our family, managed to survive the past year and a half by taking an example from the resilience and energy that Ellie had, to make the best of a bad situation.”

Dana read the poem “Anytime (I am there)” by William Finn which was the song Ellie sang at her graduation performance. The poem is a promise from a deceased person to forever look after loved ones.

“Any time you laugh

Any time you cry

Any time you hear a sound

When you're on the grass

Lying on the ground

Any time you wash your hands

I'll be around”

Dana concluded with her own line:

“And now I found with thanks to you

I’m stronger than I ever knew.”

David Goldenberg, Ellie’s father, thanked everyone from near and far for attending the event and for supporting the KKL-JNF project “to keep Ellie’s legacy alive”. David apologized for not saying more due to the emotions that the ceremony had aroused in him.

While walking to the plaque dedication site, Dana spoke about her family history.

“My Dad came on Aliya at the age of 13 with his parents, my grandparents, who are both present here at the ceremony. He and Mom married in 1986 and had 3 children: Michael, Ellie and then me. In 2003, my parents, who are both physicians, decided to do a residency at John Hopkins Medical Center, so they moved the family to the United States. We children grew up in the USA.

“Last year, May 12, 2017, Ellie graduated top of her class from the University of Miami where she received her musical theatre degree. The family traveled to Miami to be present at the award ceremony and to attend her final performance. She was also the recipient of the Friends of Theatre Award, one of the highest honors bestowed by the school’s Department of Theatre Arts.

“The next day, May 13, Ellie was killed in an accident while on a celebratory airboat excursion together with Dad, Mom and I in the Everglades National Park. Ellie was trapped under the boat, which had overturned, and drowned.”

Ellie’s parents and siblings unveiled the commemoratory plaque that read:

“In loving memory of Ellie Goldenberg, Z”L, (1994-2017), gifted singer and actor, lover of life. This corner is dedicated by her family and friends and all those who love her in Israel and around the world.”

On the top right corner of the plaque is a QR code, which, when scanned by your smartphone, links to a YouTube clip of Ellie’s graduation performance of the song “Anytime (I am there)”.

Ellie’s father David activated the link and showed everyone the entire performance on his phone.

“This”, he said, “was her last performance ever.” And that was the turning point for all those who been dry-eyed up until then.

The ceremony closed when Omri Boneh and Michael Ben Abu presented David with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of KKL-JNF for the contribution in the name of Ellie.

At the end of the ceremony, all the guests remained at the new picnic site, embracing the family and reminiscing about Ellie.

Ellie’s Oak Tree Corner Dedicated in Keren HaCarmel Forest

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