Garfinkel Gilel Girshevich (b. 1927, Ludza) – mechanical engineer.
In 1941, Gilel Garfinkel completed seven years of secondary school. During the war, he was evacuated to the Uzbek SSR, where he worked on the Brylyk kolkhoz in the Fergana Region. Later that year, he moved to Kokand and enrolled at a petroleum technical college.
In 1944, Garfinkel relocated to Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), transferring to the second year of a civil engineering college. In 1945, he returned to Riga. He graduated from the Riga Industrial Polytechnic in 1948 with a qualification as an electrical technician.
From 1948 to 1949, Gilel Garfinkel worked as an electromechanic at the Latvenergo repair and mechanical plant in Riga. Between 1949 and 1954, he served as an electrical fitter and design engineer at the VEF plant. In 1954, he worked as a design engineer at the Hydrometeorological Instruments Plant and as an electrical technician at the Latmestpromproyekt enterprise. From 1954 to 1957, he was a mechanical engineer at the Latvkommunenergo trust.
Starting in 1957, he headed the tool bureau at the Riga Electric Lamp Plant.
He was married to Dora Garfinkel (née Demikovskaya, b. 1928, Dzerzhinsk, Donetsk Region). They had two daughters: Zhanetta Garfinkel (b. 1951, Riga) and Natella Garfinkel (b. 1958, Riga).
His parents, Miriam Garfinkel (b. 1889, Ludza) and Hirsh Garfinkel (b. 1882, Ludza), emigrated to Israel in 1956. His brother, David Garfinkel-Benhur (b. 1917, Moscow), emigrated to Palestine in 1935 and lived and worked in Israel from the late 1960s. Another brother, Borukh Garfinkel (b. 1920, Riga), had lived and worked in the United States since 1938.
In 1971, Gilel Garfinkel was granted permission to emigrate to Israel.
Family:
Dora Gilelevna Garfinkel (née Demikovskaya, b. 1928, Dzerzhinsk, Donetsk Region) – wife
Zhanetta Gilelevna Garfinkel (b. 1951, Riga) – daughter
Natella Gilelevna Garfinkel (b. 1958, Riga) – daughter
Miriam Garfinkel (b. 1889, Ludza) – mother
Hirsh Garfinkel (b. 1882, Ludza) – father
David Garfinkel-Benhur (b. 1917, Moscow) – brother
Borukh Garfinkel (b. 1920, Riga) – brother