Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Oh botheration. ‘Ere we go again, as the earwig said as it fell off the rim of the jar. The midnight hour struck last night and no fairy godmother appeared to turn the pumpkin into a carriage. So we poor benighted citizens of Israel face another two-and-a-half months […]
Why Israelis must endure a new election Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — Actually, the one-woman show of the above title that I saw last week has very little to do with the subject of the title, namely, mothers-in-law. I am one such, and even an ex-one in one case, but not a step one, or not yet, at least (and I hope never).
Play review: ‘My Ex- Step- Mother- in- Law’ Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — I was one of the brave souls who attended a performance of the opera, The Passenger’ by Mieczyslaw Weinberg. I did so mainly because a friend of ours was the revival director of the production by the Israel Opera, and not because I’m a “glutton for punishment,” as I have
An opera about Auschwitz!? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Theatre, Film & BroadcastAsylum by Moriz Scheyer (Translated by P.N. Singer); Little, Brown and Company, 2016 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Written at the time of the actual events, this powerful book starts by describing the atmosphere in Vienna before the Anschluss by Nazi Germany, followed by the author’s flight, together with his wife and non-Jewish housekeeper, who
Book Review: ‘Asylum’ Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — After blowing hot, then cold, then hot, then cold again, the weather in Israel seems finally to have settled down to the appropriate behavior for this time of the year. Yes, I know that for a while last week it was warmer and sunnier in London than here,
Has Spring finally sprung in Israel? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Six weeks, eleven flights, six states, one one-week cruise and four countries (in addition to the USA). That is feeble compared with the Beatles’ tour of the USA in 1965 (twenty-five cities in thirty days), but they were much younger than we were (and probably flew first class).
Israelis abroad: Glimpses of the USA Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Travel and Food, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — Israel is due to hold a general election on April 9th, and polls are indicating that there might be a chance that Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud will not be forming the next government. I’ll probably be annoying a few readers by saying that it’s high time that Israel saw a
A challenge to the ‘cabal’ that runs Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — I was privileged to attend a concert in a private home given by young musicians who are students at Jerusalem’s Hassadna Music Conservatory. Together with the rest of the audience, I was greatly impressed by their professional standard and aplomb. Some of the musicians were of Ethiopian background and displayed
Hassadna teaches music to all classes of Israelis Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –An acquaintance connected with the UK’s UIJA (United Israel Jewish Appeal) suggested that I write an article about the Western Galilee College for the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees), for which I write a monthly column entitled ‘Letter from Israel.’ The college, situated just outside the ancient city
Academic sightseeing in the Galilee Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Elena Ferrante’s novels about her childhood in a run-down Naples neighbourhood and her life subsequently focus to a great extent on her friendship with Lina, a.k.a. Lila, the girl who dominated her life as a child and to some extent as an adult, too. The character of Lina
Recalling the friends of our childhood Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Growing up in postwar London I never heard the term ‘Second Generation,’ nor was I aware of it until many years later. In Israel at some point in the 1960s or 1970s there was a discussion, possibly even an argument, as to whether people who had fled Europe before,
The Second Generation Syndrome Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — All the talk of the Polar Vortex hitting the Midwest of the USA reminds me of the year my family and I spent in Nebraska, the funnily-shaped State bang in the middle of the United States. People are saying that there hasn’t been a freeze like that for
Polar Vortex was perhaps like 1983 Nebraska freeze Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson TEL AVIV, Israel — “I don’t know how you can go to an opera,” my grown-up nephew said. “A play, OK; a movie, fine. But opera?” “It’s a show. It’s fun,” I replied. “There’s music, movement, action, drama, costumes. It’s like a kids’ show for grown-ups.” But after spending a night with Richard
Music, dance in ‘Salome’ both disappoint Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & BroadcastA Time Out of Joint: A Journey from Nazi Germany to Post-War Britain by Roland Hill; The Radcliffe Press, 2007 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I picked this book up as its title is very similar to a novel of mine (both quoting Hamlet) and its subtitle describes a path very similar to the one
Book Review: ‘A Time Out of Joint’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International