Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Hats off to the weather forecasters! Last week they said that a perfect storm was coming, and this week it did. Sunday was still fairly reasonable, chilly but not too bad. One could still get out and about here in the Jerusalem area with relative ease, and function […]
Storm filled the lake–and everything else Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The Bible Lands Museum, situated opposite the Israel Museum, houses a broad range of archeological artefacts from all over the Ancient Near East. In accordance with the vision of its founder, the late Eli Borovsky, it refers to the various cultures of the Ancient Near East, each of which contributed
Bible Lands Museum program promotes friendships Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –As election time in Israel draws near (the date set is 22nd January 2013), the plethora of parties and personalities vying for the Israeli voter’s attention is becoming ever more frenetic. On the one side is the massive combined weight of two right-wing parties, led by Avigdor Lieberman and
No option may be the best choice in Israeli election Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — I heard about the book Start-Up Nation; the Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle by Dan Senor and Saul Singer a couple of years ago but didn’t take too much notice. After all, the fact that Israel is a hotbed of innovation, high-tech industry and networking is nothing new to
Belated praise for ‘Start Up Nation’ Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Many people who read the front page of Haaretz one day last week while they were having their breakfast, including yours truly, suddenly felt sick to their stomach. In huge, black letters the main front-page headline read: ‘69% of Israelis Support Apartheid.’ The text of the article, which occupied
Debunking the Israeli apartheid myth Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –How we got onto the topic of education about the Holocaust I don’t quite know, but in a recent conversation with some friends I happened to say that I didn’t think it appropriate or beneficial for Israeli high-school students to go on school trips to Poland to visit concentration
Should Israeli kids skip concentration camp visits? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –A Facebook message that appeared on my computer screen caused me so much shock and dismay that I committed a mortal Facebook sin: I told the person who had put the message up what I thought of him by using insulting language. I regret that reaction. I regret my
In defense of ‘Haaretz’ and ethical behavior Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — A petite lady with short dark hair and amazing green eyes called out my name as I entered the café at the Israel Museum where we had agreed to meet, never having set eyes on one another before. “You just looked like someone who would be called Dorothea,” she said
Becky Guttin installing sculpture in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A few years ago I was asked to prepare the text for a website for Joseph Hirsch (1920-1997), a highly regarded Israeli artist who also happened to be my mother’s first cousin (double first cousin, actually, as two brothers had married two sisters in pre-WW1 Germany, one
My cousin Joseph Hirsch, the artist Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel -In preparation for our summer in France, or perhaps simply because I like to think I can read books in French, I bought Anne Sinclair’s book, 21 Rue la Boetie. Reading it took me into the fascinating world of French art in the twentieth century, with extensive ramifications regarding
Picasso, Rosenberg and the Nazi looters Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson ZIKHRON YA’AKOV, Israel — It’s over twenty years since my own children were teenagers, and it was with some trepidation that my husband and I agreed to leave our home and spend a week in Zikhron Ya’akov attending to our three grandsons while their parents took a well-deserved break abroad. Like everywhere
Here’s Zikhron Ya’akov from grandma’s perspective Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson LA CREUSE, France –The village where we are currently spending our summer is a place where almost all its inhabitants are either retired, absent or dead. The memorial plaque in the centre of the village commemorating those who died in the two world wars lists 37 names for WWI and 5 for
When Jews go to a church, and vice versa Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –It was only after our father died, almost ten years ago, that my sisters and I could begin to tackle the daunting task of going through all the books, papers, and sundry objects that he and our mother had managed to accumulate in their roughly 20 years of life in
Collating my mother’s recipes Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A cold and rainy Saturday morning with no visiting grandchildren or social obligations presented a golden opportunity to attend a concert of chamber music given in the nearby neighbourhood of Ein Kerem. This is an outlying part of Jerusalem, consisting mainly of picturesque old houses, many of
Chamber music and soup! Mmm-mm good! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson