Meet Dante Barboy
December 30, 2025 | People in Our Neighborhood
My name is Dante Barboy, and I recently became one of the new Baltimore City Jewish Young Adults (20s & 30s) Connectors. I was originally born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and came to the Baltimore region at age 6 with my family. I attended Jewish day school in Buenos Aires, and Hebrew School once here in the US leading up to my Bar Mitzvah. I’ve lived in the Baltimore area since then. I moved to South Baltimore in September 2021, and I enjoy being within walking-distance from many attractions and important events in the area, while also being removed from the busiest part of the neighborhood.
How did you get connected with The Network?
I became a Community Connector with the Jewish Connection Network (The Network) this past summer. It was following a recommendation from my mom, Adriana Luftman (Next Chapter, 55+ Connector), who introduced me to the Connector program and suggested it as a way for me to be more involved in creating Jewish community with my peers. In the last few years, I have been involved in energizing the Argentinian soccer team Boca Jrs. Fan Club in the DMV area.
Who are you trying to connect with? What void are you trying to fill in terms of people seeking community?
Since I started as a Connector, I’ve been pretty clear regarding what I want to work on for our community. I strive to create a space where secular, mainly cultural young adult Jews, who typically dwell in non-Jewish circles, can find support and have fun together. Following the tragic, horrible events of 10/7, many of us felt a loss in community, friendships, and alliances that we never believed we’d live through. More importantly, I aim to bring something new, something different from the traditional Jewish events, by organizing not-strictly-Jewish everyday activities for our community with the uniqueness of them being done with like-minded Jewish young adults.
I believe this is a need. I hear from young secular Jews living downtown that the Jewish social opportunities are mostly traditional, and sometimes a little bit dry or too religious for those who aren’t observant but still feel very proud of their Jewish identity and affinity for Israel.
When you think about the people you’ve met through the Network, what moments remind you why this work matters?
So far, I have been in the Connector role for less than six months and I’m already finding that there is a deep yearning and hunger for this type of community. I’ve been delighted by the collaborative response and general enthusiasm from my peers as there is a lot of desire to make this a reality and build new connections.
Even more recently, I’ve had various people express interest in what I want to accomplish. I’ve heard personal stories of people needing community following October 7th after experiencing a lot of antisemitism and anti-Israel reactions.
What’s your go-to bagel order?
My favorite go-to bagel is definitely poppyseed. They are comically dangerous and addictive.
Favorite Jewish athlete?
Currently, I follow plenty of Jewish athletes across many leagues and sports. I enjoy watching NBA player Deni Avdija who is with the Portland Trailblazers. He’s for sure among my favorites and someone in the US sports scene that most would be familiar with (I know many soccer players from Argentina that happen to be Jewish that most may be less familiar with).
Who inspires you right now?
In today’s difficult situation for Jews globally, I am inspired by non-Jews who stand relentlessly with us despite the scorn they receive from their peers and the rest of society, such as Ritchie Torres, Van Jones, John Fetterman, Cory Booker, etc.
Any favorite holiday memories or traditions?
My most cherished memories around Jewish holidays have usually come around Passover due to its importance in our history and culture as well as its significance for the Jewish people on the way to the Promised Land.
What else should people know about you?
With respect to something interesting about myself, I hold triple citizenship (Argentina-US-Israel) through family ties to Israel, and from what I know this is a relatively unique thing. I was in Israel this past March (on my second trip to it), in the midst of the war, volunteering and helping out at a hospital and on different farms. It was a wonderful and extremely memorable experience for me. I not only interacted with Jewish youth from many countries but also was able to spend time with a dear friend who is fighting in the war. In addition, I had the opportunity to meet with distant Israeli relatives (dating back to my maternal grandfather Eliezer Luftman, born in British Mandatory Palestine in 1926, whose cousins and their descendants remained in Israel after his immediate family moved to Argentina) who were very similar to my own family but just from a different place and spoke a different language (Hebrew and not Spanish). I will never forget how loving and welcoming that endeavor was for me and how it solidified my reconnection with our people.
I intend to travel there again, hopefully in the next few months.
Let’s Connect!
For those out there looking to connect with other secular, young and energetic Jewish young adults in fun non-traditional Jewish activities, I invite you to join me and our growing community of 20s & 30s Jewish adults in Greater Baltimore. Let’s Connect! Reach out at dantebarboy@gmail.com.