A Dispute Between an Israeli Writer and a British Journal

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was stunned when the editor of the small journal issued by the Association of Jewish Refugees in London declined to publish my article about a family reunion which arose from an exhibition accorded to a relative at the Israel Museum. I have been writing a monthly column entitled ‘Letter from Israel’ for that journal for almost 20 years. I was even more stunned by the reason given for rejecting my piece, namely, that it ‘comes across as rather self-indulgent’ and in view of the war in Gaza ‘might antagonize our readers.’

I was in the throes of battling a nasty cold, so it took me a week to recover my senses and pen a reply. This is what I wrote:

‘I’m very disappointed that you have declined to publish the article about my family. I thought it was particularly appropriate for your readers as it refers to the reuniting of a scattered refugee family, and the belated recognition of an exiled artist.

The sense I get from your letter is that you feel that your readers begrudge any glimmer of normality evident in Israel just now. I have always tried to present in my ‘Letter from Israel’ that very-much neglected side of reporting on Israel. Yes, there is a war going on, and every day we swallow the bitter pill of news about another soldier who has fallen in battle and watch on the nightly TV news the heart-wrenching funerals and eulogies for these brave young men.

But normal life does go on. The sun shines and people go about their daily business. Sometimes people in the Tel Aviv and central Israel area are woken by the sound of sirens in the middle of the night and have to go to safe rooms or shelters due to missile attacks from Yemen. Missiles are still being fired into souhern Israel from Gaza. Here in the Jerusalem area we have been less affected by these attacks to date.

I feel that your readers are too much influenced by reports in the biased foreign media. The BBC, for example, refuses to define Hamas as a terrorist organization. The footage from Gaza is not pleasant to watch, of course, but whatever is happening there is the result of Hamas’ attack on Israel and its avowed intention to do the same again if given the chance. People here are more affected by the fate of our hostages, and the cruel conditions in which they are being held.

Israel’s existence today is the main reason that Jews are not shunted from pillar to post, as they have been in the past. The impression I get from you is that your readers, who have decided not to throw in their lot with Israel — as I have — and prefer to remain in the comfort of the diaspora (the word ‘fleshpots comes to mind) feel justified in criticizing Israel for retaliating to the attack by Hamas on innocent civilians.

My focus on the relatively normal aspects of daily life here is not to be taken as any kind of support for the current government, which has twisted and degraded Israel’s founding principles and whose downfall is the aspiration of all right-thinking Israelis.

This, then, is my real ‘Letter from Israel.’

To her credit, the editor reacted promptly and considerately, reversing her decision not to publish my article, and even suggesting an expanded ‘Letter from Israel,’ combining segments from my original article with the letter I sent her. I accepted her suggestion and look forward to seeing the new version in print as well as on the AJR website. I wonder what kind of reaction it will get.

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion.