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 MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — “Who among you knows the names of your great-grandparents?” the speaker asked. Only a few of us put our hands up. “Who of you has a family tree?” he continued. Even fewer of our group of English-speakers living in Israel responded positively. Our speaker, Neville Lamdan, proceeded to explain […]
Recording our Jewish roots Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As always, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom gave her traditional Christmas message, which was televised and broadcast all over the world. Although I don’t usually pay it much attention, this year I happened to catch it live on TV, and watched with greater interest than usual,
Home is where the hearth is Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastJourney to a Dream; A voyage of discovery from England’s industrial north to Spain’s rural interior by Craig Briggs; (c) 2012; ISBN 9781480-254930; Prices vary on Amazon By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –Author Craig Briggs describes in great detail the process whereby he and his wife decamped from the north of England to Spain in
‘Journey to a Dream’ had many detours Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –The pungent aroma of baking would often greet me when I came home from school. My mother was an expert baker (and cook) and had a wide range of goodies that she would make in the course of the year, as well as the delicious Challah and rolls she
Her favorite Chanukah dessert? Ginger bread! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodThe Undoing Project; a Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis; W.W. Norton and Co. (c) 2017. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — In this book Michael Lewis sets out to describe the way two Israeli psychologists worked together over the course of several years to develop a theory about the process
Israeli team probes how people make decisions Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Aboard the cruise ship Carnival Dream, a veritable floating city, we shared the fourteen decks with some 4,000 other passengers Our route took us from New Orleans, down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and several Caribbean islands. From conversations with some of our fellow-passengers we learned that
Fun, food, and visits to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Mexico Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Travel and FoodBy 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 are (and probably flew first class). One
Trip took her here, there, and almost everywhere Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food77 Miles of Jewish Stories; History, Anecdotes and Tales of Travel Along I-8 by Donald H. Harrison; Create Space, 2017, 338 pages including index, $19.95. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson SAN DIEGO — The 70 chapters of this book appeared originally as individual articles in various editions of San Diego Jewish World, the website edited by
Book’s 70 chapters provide picture of U.S. Jewish life Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, San Diego County, USABy Dorothea Shefer Vanson MEVASERET ZION, Israel — The latest event on the world stage, the not-very-stellar re-election of Angela Merkel and rise of the AfD party in Germany, seems to fit into the pattern that has characterized elections all over the world in recent years, with the rise of right-wing parties. Some people think
Global trend to the right began in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASERET Zion, Israel — A few years ago a friend added me to the mailing list of a British publication that lists books (not ebooks) that are available at a reduced price. The masthead proudly proclaims that it is ‘Britain’s Best Postal Book Bargains.’ And at the side is the royal crest that
Books giving way to the Internet Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASERET ZION, Israel — “Predators.” No, the term doesn’t apply to all men, but it would seem to be a corollary of the power that many men have obtained, by fair means or foul, over women, particularly in the workplace. The recent revelations about the way Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein appears to
Speaking out against male predators Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, USAStalin’s Englishman: the Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie (published by Hodder and Stoughton, 2015) By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The defection to the USSR of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean in 1951 remained prominent in the British press for almost a decade. Their defection was followed a few years later by that of
Anatomy of a gang of spies Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — When I heard that Anne-Marie O’Connor would be speaking at the Tower of David Museum in a dialogue with fellow-author Ora Ahimeir I jumped at the opportunity to see and hear the author of the monumental book Woman in Gold in person. As readers are doubtless aware, the book relates the saga
An Evening with the Author of ‘Woman in Gold’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It’s two o’clock in the morning as the ‘Fasten Seat-Belts’ sign comes on in the plane bringing us back to Tel Aviv. We anxiously scan the darkness outside for the first signs of the city that never sleeps. And suddenly, there it is. The strings of lights that tell