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:

‘Motherhood’ book unappealing for secular readers

Tzippora Price, Mother in Action: Exploring the Inner World of Motherhood, Menucha Publishers, ISBN 97816145130-7, 133 pages. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — First of all, the title is a misnomer, as the first part of the book is concerned with the author’s personal journey from college student in the USA to devout Jewess […]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Science, Medicine, & Education

The snake is a creature of many metaphors

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — Snakes Alive! The setting was a club for retired people in one of Jerusalem’s more prosperous and prestigious neighbourhoods. Most of its members are ladies of a certain age or more, well-dressed, well-coiffed and well-preserved, with a sprinkling of elderly gents. They spend their spare time engaging in activities which

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & Education

Jewish audience enjoys concert in a Protestant church

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A performance of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem by my local choir, the Mevasseret Choir, in which several of my friends and neighbours sing, was more than enough to entice me to attend their recent concert, which was given in the Augusta Victoria church. The imposing church-hospital complex, which is

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Political corruption manifested in towering eyesore

  By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–Over and above the scandal and shenanigans surrounding the prosecution, trial and eventual conviction for accepting bribes and betraying the voters’ trust by the erstwhile  mayor of Jerusalem and former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his associates is the very material existence of the building that lies at the heart of

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East

The little things that provide so much happiness

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — “What makes you happy?” A recent survey in England asked people that question and, after obtaining thousands of replies and running the various statistical analyses, came up with the result that on the whole people are happier after the age of 55 than when they were younger. Various explanations

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

Narratives recapture the chaos, pride of Six Day War

  The Lion’s Gate; On the Front Lines of the Six Day War by Steven Pressfield; Sentinel/ Penguin, (c) 2014. ISBN 978-1-59523-091-1, 430 pages including index and bibliography, $29.95. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — ‘The Lion’s Gate’ is a fascinating attempt to present the events before and during the Six Day War of June 1967,

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish History, Middle East

Richmond has history, art and many monuments

Editor’s Note: Our correspondent from Mevasseret Zion, Israel, has been visiting the United States and occasionally blogging about what she sees.  Here is a report from Richmond, Virginia. By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson RICHMOND, Virginia — For me personally, the principal attraction of Richmond, Virginia is the presence there or in the vicinity of two first cousins

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food, USA

The architect’s vision of Hadassah Hospital at Ein Kerem

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–Not long ago I was privileged to hear renowned architect Arthur Spector give a talk about the new Hadassah Hospital building at Ein Kerem designed by his firm. Leaving aside the financial aspect of the building, which has aroused some controversy, Spector proceeded to provide his audience with a fascinating insight into

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & Education

Translators often lonely and underpaid

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Last year, for various reasons, the annual conference of the Israel Translators Association was not held. Consequently, this year’s event, which was held in Herzliya at the beginning of February, was eagerly awaited. The three-day programme comprised around fifty lectures and workshops, some of them held concurrently, interwoven

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

By Arab standards, I’m a refugee and so are my children

By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The general Israeli public is on the whole soft-hearted and empathetic towards those in need. The scenes we see on TV almost nightly of Syrian refugees pouring across the borders into Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, sheltering from the snow or sweltering in the heat inside the flimsy tents

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East