Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson DEAD SEA, Israel –If one lives in Israel long enough one cannot escape being brushed by the wings of history. One week in my life recently took me – metaphorically — across continents and eras. On Tuesday I joined a group of friends for a guided tour of the home of Shai […]
Brushed by history on tour of Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–I finished reading Howard Jacobson’s book, The Finkler Question, and was still pondering its manifold messages in the evening as I attended a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore. This was given in Jerusalem by an amateur troupe composed mainly of immigrants from English-speaking countries.. Friends had tried to
Greatly to their credit, most Jews hold Israel close Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Despite rumors to the contrary, Israel is a normal country at least as far as retail therapy is concerned. Shopping malls are popping up with ever-increasing frequency wherever one looks. They incorporate many advantages for both vendors and shoppers, and the ambience in them varies from quiet
Normal Arab-Jewish coexistence in Israel goes unreported by media Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — A ginger cat scampered along the gangway in front of the stage at the special concert given in the Jerusalem Theatre by the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra last Independence Day. The young soloist who was playing Rachmaninoff’s very demanding third piano concerto didn’t seem to notice, though the audience did.
Feline interruptions not cat-astrophes for the orchestras Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Some time ago I was given a small book, Jeder Tag in Theresienstadt ist ein Geschenk; Die Theresienstadter Tagebücher einer Hamburger Jüdin, 1943-1945 (‘Every Day in Theresienstadt is a Gift’) by Martha Glass, published in 1996 by the Hamburg Department for Political Education with an introduction by Barbara
On Translating Martha Glass’s Diary Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel – Reading the recent review of the Chula Vista production of the play, The Diary of Anne Frank, I was taken back twenty-five years, to the year I spent in Lincoln, Nebraska, where my husband was teaching at the University. The Cliff’s Notes publisher of booklets intended to
The Via Dolorosa of Anne Frank Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — So once again British hooligans managed to disrupt a concert given by Israeli musicians in London, this time one given by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms last September. This follows a similar interruption of a performance by the Jerusalem Quartet at the Wigmore Hall earlier in
The cacaphony of Palestinian violence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Reading about a conference on genocide held in Frankfurt, Germany, in March 2011 which appeared in Second Generation Voices, a journal for and by the descendants of Holocaust survivors which is published in England, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief. Admittedly, the title of the conference
Palestinians: victims or persecutors? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson EILAT, Israel — A trip to this Red Sea city from Jerusalem is always a pleasure, and especially in the winter, when the weather in Jerusalem is cold and rainy. The four-hour drive takes one through the Judean Desert, along the Dead Sea, and down to the Negev. The mountains in Jordan,
A festival and a car trip of note Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The arrest and arraignment in New York of DSK (Dominique Strauss-Kahn) was somewhat ‘déjà vu’ for Israelis. There is something both terrible and fascinating in seeing a prominent, successful and influential personage brought down low in public. The sight of the haggard face and pitiful stance as they
The sexual hubris of some men in power Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel – People in this country are accustomed to grumbling about everything – the government, the cost of living and above all the weather. They are not, or at least have not been in the past, accustomed to doing anything much about any of them. This is in contrast to
Man-on-the-street protests focus on everyday annoyances Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As an alumna of the London School of Economics, I received the following notification by email at the beginning of March: ‘It is with great regret that I am writing to inform you … that the LSE Council has accepted the offer of resignation of Sir Howard Davies as
A disgrace for the London School of Economics Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM– A chance encounter led me to the offices of IMPACT, the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, where I was able to learn about their work and see for myself the fruits of their labour from its acting director, educational counselor Shelley Elkayam. Situated in
What Muslim countries teach their students about Jews Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We watch the news on TV where we are informed that murder and mayhem, death and destruction are raging all around us. Regimes are changing in the wake of mass demonstrations, some more violent than others, in several countries nearby. But we look out of the window and
If Middle East is in turmoil, why does life seem so pleasant? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East