Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.

Her published works, available on Amazon, include:

The author’s joke, alas, is on the reader

A Horse Walks Into a Bar by David Grossman (published in Hebrew by Hasifriya Hahadasha) By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France —   I am proud to announce that I have completed my first vacation task, namely, to read the Hebrew version of David Grossman’s book, the English translation of which was awarded the prestigious Man Booker

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Book chronicles and analyzes coercion and depravity

Theresienstadt 1941-1945: The Face of a Coerced Community  by H.G.Adler; Cambridge University Press, 2017 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This monumental monograph, to which no book review can hope to do justice, comprises more than 850 pages and constitutes a far-reaching and detailed account, or rather scientific analysis, of the concentration camp that was

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History

Bipolar disorder led to life as prostitute

Fast Girl: a Life Spent Running From Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton; HarperCollins (c) 2015. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This book was recommended to me with the assurance that the story it contained was interesting and even enlightening. I’m not quite sure about that. I don’t happen to find copious detail about the

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

The personal peril of being a translator

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One doesn’t normally think of translating and editing as a dangerous profession, but my experience of working in this field for the last fifty years has had a deleterious effect on me, leaving me seriously incapacitated. Reading literature of any kind, and especially if it has been translated

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Stephen King more profound as author than coach

On Writing by Stephen King; Scribner, Simon and Schuster, 2000 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Not being a fan of the horror/fantasy genre of novels, I must confess at the outset that I have not read any of Stephen King’s other books. I do know, however, that he is a very successful and prolific author in

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

Pianist Wosner brings Schubert sonatas to life

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — A recital devoted to three of Schubert’s last sonatas (D 845, 850 and 890) was too good to miss, so we cancelled our subscription tickets to the symphonic concert that happened to fall on the same date and bought tickets for that evening instead.  Sometimes life or fate or the

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts

Israeli teaches teachers in Ghana

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Last week I was invited to hear a talk by Sharon Bashevkin Perry, who has been involved for many years in early childhood education in a variety of positions in Israel, the US and Africa. The talk was entitled ‘From Israel to Ghana – Building Bridges and Friendships Through Early Childhood Education. In 1958 Golda Meir, then Israel’s

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East

Israel public radio and TV helped olim adjust

Sic Transit Gloria Mundi By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — What exactly lies behind the closing of Israel’s Broadcasting Authority after its seven decades of serving the public is a subject for speculation. Politics, finances and greed are part of the picture for sure, although other reasons have been posited. The radio, followed by

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Theatre, Film & Broadcast