Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ZIKHRON YA’AKOV, Israel –The tragic and sudden death in a traffic accident of our daughter’s father-in-law, Eli Goldstein, brought an abrupt and untimely stop to the life of a man who was born on the land and worked the land throughout his life. His funeral, which was attended by what seemed to

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I wanted to see for myself. Day and night we are bombarded with news, views and opinions about what is happening in the ‘Territories,’ whether defined as ‘occupied’ or by their ancient geographical designation, ‘Judea and Samaria.’ So a few weeks ago, when things seemed relatively quiet, I

 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Founded in 1997 by Shuki Levinger, a social worker, and Yael Shilo, a textile artist who was trying to find a way to ensure the future of her special-needs stepson, Kishorit is today a thriving community situated in the pastoral hills of Galilee. It provides a safe haven as

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The organization known as Machsom Watch has been in existence for over ten years. Since its first tentative steps as a small group of humanitarian feminists who wanted to protect the human and civil rights of Palestinians it has grown in numbers, is less radically feminist, but is

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Between Gaza and Berlin Those two place names signify so many different views, concepts and even worlds, seeming to encapsulate the distinct worldviews that are so much a part of our life, here in Israel. In a local and very provincial sense these are the names of two roads in Rechavia, the Jerusalem

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The windows of the upper floor of my house look out towards the hill in the Judaean Mountains known as the Castel, which is today the site of a national park. It is green in winter and grey-brown in summer. I love to paint the view, which is