Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
A Curious Coincidence and a Visit to Yad Vashem By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The anniversary of the Pogrom of 9th November 1938, otherwise known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, is marked every year by Jews all over the world. It is not a religious occasion, but does nevertheless serve to unite Jewish […]
Never Again: Holocaust news for November 16, 2015 Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish HistoryThe Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I picked this book up in the local bookshop thinking it would make good holiday reading. It did, but it’s not exactly the sort of light reading one takes along to read on the beach. The tale it tells of France under German
World War II from a French girl’s perspective Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonSAN DIEGO (SDJW) – San Diego Jewish World acknowledges and thanks those writers whose works appeared on our daily news website during the month of October. They were: Yael Aires Laurie Baron Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Morris Casuto Ben Cohen Richard L. Cravatts Toby Klein Greenwald Donald H. Harrison Natasha Josefowitz Rabbi Ben Kamin Steve
SDJW thanks its October 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Ordman, San Diego County, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A brief trip to nearby Greece, or more specifically Athens, yielded a plethora of impressions, experiences and delights that could provide material for a dozen posts like this. Of course, setting foot on the very ground which was once the home of gods and goddesses, heroes, mythical
Awe- struck in Greece Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — No end of composers have been inspired by nature, and have gone on to inspire countless audiences in turn. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, and the French nineteenth century composers are just a few examples of this. But the composer whose music is above all the embodiment of
Mahler’s love of nature inspires Jerusalem Symphony Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Writing a book is relatively easy. Choose your subject, write one page every day for a year, and hey presto, after a year you have a book that is about 365 pages long. Agreed, it may take another year or two to edit, correct, amend, etc., but essentially
The joys and oys of book marketing Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — “Non!” screamed the rather large and overdressed lady sitting in the row near me as the audience burst into spontaneous applause between two movements of the piece of baroque chamber music that had just been played. This happened last summer when we attended several concerts in the charming
The changing habits of concert audiences Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts
SAN DIEGO (SDJW) – During the month of August, San Diego Jewish World was privileged to publish works by the following writers and photographers. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and to publicly express our appreciation. To access works by these contributors on San Diego Jewish World, type or copy their name into the
SDJW salutes its September 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Fred Reiss, EdD, Lawrence Baron, Lloyd Levy, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Three years ago, when I was looking for someone with whom I could converse in German, an acquaintance put me in touch with Margaret Raphael. After a brief telephone conversation I made my way to her home in one of Jerusalem’s established neighbourhoods, and we began a friendship
A fond farewell to a genuine Raphael Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Obituaries & memorialsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LONDON, England — As we all know, London has a lot to offer in the way of culture, amusement, entertainment and delights of all kinds. However, there is a very big “but” to enjoying London, and my latest visit has brought this into relief. So, I have made a series of notes to
Things not to do in merry old England Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalSAN DIEGO (SDJW) – During the month of August, San Diego Jewish World was privileged to publish works by the following writers and photographers. We would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and to publicly express our appreciation. To access works by these contributors on San Diego Jewish World, type or copy their name into the
A hearty thank you to SDJW’s August contributors Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Edwin Black, Eileen Wingard, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shor M. Masori, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France — I know I’ve written about this subject before, but it’s one that simply isn’t going to go away, and in fact is getting worse every day, every hour, every minute. Many of these unfortunates come from Africa, from countries where conflicts, poverty, corruption and hopelessness are endemic. Others come from
Jews can empathize with refugees Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East, The World We Share
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DOMEYROT, France –It seemed like a good idea at the time. Every village in central France – and possibly elsewhere, for all I know – holds a brocante once a year, when locals and anyone interested can set up a stall and sell anything that they feel is superfluous to their needs.
Weather, language, conspired against book sale Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Not long ago I was invited to join a group on Facebook that goes by the name of ‘Yecke Yeckes, Hoppe Hoppe Reiter, Young Descendants of Yekkes Seeking to Preserve the Yecke Heritage.’ That’s more than a bit of a mouthful (and I had to have the site’s
Learning and preserving German – Jewish culture Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East