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Meet Eliya Stromberg of Jerusalem, Israel, grandfather of eight, father of three, including a son with Down Syndrome, author of Chosen Fathers and founder of Fathers Connect.

Eliya and his wife, Esther, have been married for 35 years, are the proud grandparents of eight and parents to three; Eli (34), Rachael (31) and middle child Ariel (32) who has Down Syndrome.

Eliya was born and raised in Los Angeles, earned his bachelors degree from UC Berkeley, his masters degree in special education and teaching from Yeshiva University, and his PhD in education leadership from the University of Kansas. His career took him to Baltimore, NYC, Canada, Washington, Kansas, California, back to NYC and then finally to Jerusalem.

While in Israel, where they raised their children, Eliya also started Fathers Connect, a non-profit fatherhood organization serving families raising children with special needs and authored the book Chosen Fathers.

It’s an uplifting and enlightening story about a father’s love for his child, the transformation from being an educator of those with special needs to being the parent of a child with special needs, and the calling to assist other families by strengthening fatherhood ties.