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 — Verdi’s Requiem is not often performed in Israel. It requires a massive choir, an accomplished and enormous orchestra with augmented brass section, and four top-flight vocal soloists. In addition, it should be performed in an auditorium that can cope with the wide range of volume, tone and timbre […]
Verdi in Herzliya a triumph Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It sometimes seems as if we’re living in a kind of science-fiction fantasy world in which, from the comfort of our home, we watch the dreadful events swirling around us while we remain cozily ensconced in our little cocoon of comfort and plenty. The images we see nightly
Watching disasters in comfort Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastSAN DIEGO (SDJW)—San Diego Jewish World acknowledges and thanks those writers and photographers whose bylines appeared during the month of May on its website. They were: David Amos Laurie Baron Caren Besner Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Stephen Bryen Garry Fabian Abraham Foxman Donald H. Harrison Natasha Josefowitz Rabbi Ben Kamin Tony Klug Steve Kramer Lloyd
SDJW thanks its May contributors Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Ordman, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerOut of the Shoebox, an Autobiographical Mystery Historical Novel by Yaron Reshef, translated from the Hebrew by Nina R. Davis and Shira E. Davis, Amazon, 2014 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel– Yaron Reshef begins his book, which has been expertly translated by Nina and Shira Davis, with a declaration regarding the sequence of chance
Finding one’s roots can be bitter and sweet Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Land is scarce in the Jerusalem area, so I can consider myself very fortunate to have a small plot of land attached to my house. It is divided into terraced sections because of the lay of the land, which is actually the side of a hill. Thus the
Gardening pleasures in a Jerusalem suburb Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Psychologists and psychiatrists have defined the outburst of mystical ecstasy and identification with our ancient city as a known phenomenon that sometimes even requires hospitalization or sedation of the person affected. It has a distant echo in the sense of awe that occasionally envelops visitors to Florence, but no
The ‘Jerusalem syndrome’ and holiday bullying Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–Whether by coincidence or design (probably the latter), Jerusalem’s YMCA building is currently showing an exhibition of exquisite Armenian ceramic work produced by one of the many workshops situated in the Old City. No mention is made of the slaughter of over a million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire exactly one hundred
In Israel, admiration, sympathy for Armenians Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Jewish and Israeli history is replete with both tragic and joyful events, and in fact the life of a Jew living in Israel is something of a roller-coaster existence, taking us from the depths of sorrow one day to the sublime heights of joy the next, whether it’s
An emotional roller coaster during Israel’s holidays Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Like most – if not all – of my friends, I was disappointed by the outcome of Israel’s recent general election. Perhaps I was not quite as disappointed as some of them, as I had been expecting a result along the lines of what actually transpired. I still
Status quo voters will have themselves to blame Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Wandering through the stalls of the Jerusalem International Book Fair held a few weeks ago my eye fell upon a display entitled ‘Lavi Publications,’ where copies of just one or two volumes in Hebrew were on display. The modestly dressed elderly lady in attendance at the stall was eager
A treasure of Iranian history at a Jerusalem book stall Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The visit to Israel of friends from abroad provided us with the opportunity to walk through the Old City of Jerusalem and show them just a few of the tourist attractions in which that relatively small area abounds. One of our visitors had been to Israel several times in the last
Walking visitors through the Old City of Jerusalem Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — And so once again, only two years after the previous election, Israel’s long-suffering population has been thrown into the maelstrom of another election campaign. Though perhaps “maelstrom” is too strong a term to describe the boredom and drudgery of being exposed to another round of groupings and regroupings
Israel elections again? How depressing! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson GUERET, France — Life is full of strange coincidences. I first encountered the story of Charlotte Salomon about twenty years ago, when an exhibition of her work, a series of paintings with captions describing her life and entitled ‘Life? Or Theatre?’ was held at the Royal Academy in London. It made a
‘Charlotte’ tells story of perished German Jewish girl Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LONDON–Spending a few days in London in January reminded me of the little ditty below by Robert Louis Stevenson, and although I now have the benefit of electric light, there’s no getting away from the long, dark nights, the late rising and early setting sun — if you manage to get a
She’ll take London for culture, Jerusalem for weather Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East