Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
* All Quiet on the Midwestern Plains: A Tale of Deception, Betrayal, and Vindication
* The Balancing Game: A Child Between Two Worlds, A Society Approaching War
* Chasing Dreams and Flies: A Tragicomedy of Life in France
* The Diary of Anne Frank (Cliff Notes)
* Levi Koenig: A Contemporary King Lear
* Time out of Joint: The Fate of a Family
Shefer-Vanson also is a Hebrew to English translator, with those works on Amazon including:
* The Rainy Day Man by Amnon Jackont
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — It’s that time of the year again. Over the summer weekends every self-respecting village and town in central France holds its annual fete or saint’s day, meaning that bowls competitions are held, food and drink is served for a minimum fee and both local people and ‘outsiders’ can set […]
Enjoying a ‘brocante’ in central France Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodChasing Lost Time The Life of C.K.Scott Moncrieff; Soldier, Spy and Translator by Jean Findlay, published by Chatto and Windus, 2014 MEVASSERET ZION, Israel – As a former translator and great admirer of the works of Proust, both in the original French (a bit of a struggle for me) and in their delightful English version,
Moncrieff’s 40 packed years Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson BOUSSAC, France — The region around Limoges has been known since medieval times for its weavers. The art of tapestry-making once flourished there for many generations, passing down from father to son. Today the towns of Aubusson and Felletin are no longer famous for that particular specialty, though remnants of those ancient
Tapestries in a medieval castle inspire visitors Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Travel and FoodDoing His Will (Osah Kirtzono) by Esti Weinstein, published in Hebrew by Kinneret, Zmora-Bitan, Dvir, 2016. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM –The poor woman who wrote this book (and eventually committed suicide) was born into a specific sect, tantamount to a cult, of ultra-Orthodox Judaism known as the Gur Hassidim As a child and teenager the author
Suicide’s memoir indicts the Gur sect of Hassidim Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The recent furore over Donald Trump’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents and placing them in enclosures that have been likened to cages, seems in the end to have brought out the best in American society. After all, virtually all Americans, Trump included, can trace their roots
Bravo, Americans, for standing up for the children! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The exhibition of paintings by Francisco de Zurburan, a seventeenth-century Spanish painter, has been a major attraction at the Israel Museum for the last few weeks. I had never heard of him, so I made use of a free morning to go and take a look. What met my eyes
‘Jacob and his Sons’ at the Israel Museum Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Six weeks, eleven flights, six states, one one-week cruise and four countries (not including 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). One
Exhausting, yet fun, travel in North America Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food, USAUscolia by Gabriel Lanyi; Sycorrax Books, Boston, 2017 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It is many years since I read material on the theory of education, and this book on the subject came into my hands through the kindness of our new neighbor, who also happens to be the author. But it is no
Book describes education in utropia Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSARET ZION, Israel — It was one of those weird coincidences that sometimes makes me wonder what is going on in the world, or at least in my own little world. One evening last week we went to see the Swiss film, The Divine Order, because it had been recommended by a
Media focuses on women’s rights in Switzerland, Egypt Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As befits an English woman living abroad, I watched the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on television, and reveled in the pomp and circumstance of each shot and every angle. I loved the sight of the beautiful mixed-race bride, her dress, the bridesmaids and page-boys, the various
Royal wedding invoked Hebrew imagery Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish Religion, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel —That Was The Week That Was (TWTWTW) was the title of a satirical program on UK television in my youth, bringing a great deal of mirth and merriment to the British viewing public. As satire tends to be, it was irreverent and entertaining, helping to brighten the somewhat dull
A week of roller coaster emotions Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — When we were in Las Vegas last year, visiting our son and daughter-in-law, on one particular evening they were otherwise occupied. They made sure to seat us comfortably in the living room facing the large TV screen, handed us the remote control, and told us to find something on
‘The Crown’ captivates English ex-pats Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Currently showing at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is an exhibition by Zoya Cherkassky, who was born in Russia and immigrated to Israel with her family in the 1990s. The Cherkasskys were part of the million-strong influx of Jewish immigrants from Russia who were finally able to leave
Social Realism: Russians in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Unable to sleep one night I surfed through the TV channels I sometimes watch and came across a debate about anti-Semitism on France24 (in English, fortunately). The trigger for this was President Macron’s tweet about the existence of an ‘old anti-Semitism’ in France alongside a new form of the
A European debate on anti- Semitism Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East