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 –Returning from a four-week jaunt across the USA in which we visited six cities and met countless relatives and friends – both old and new – it took no time at all to get used to the pace of life in Israel. That may be due in part to […]
An Israeli tourist’s reflections on America Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, USAEditor’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
Richmond has history, art and many monuments Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food, USA
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson SAN DIEGO –The JCCs (Jewish Community Centers) that are to be found in almost very town and city throughout North America provide a focal point for activities that reach out to Jews of all kinds, no matter what form or shape their convictions take. I was recently taken to visit the
JCC Association emphasizes pluralism Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, USABy 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
The architect’s vision of Hadassah Hospital at Ein Kerem Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy 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
Translators often lonely and underpaid Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy 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
By Arab standards, I’m a refugee and so are my children Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The title of the lecture, ‘An Ode to Salonika: the Ladino Verses of Boueno Sarfatty,’ was not particularly enticing, but I decided to go along anyway. In the event, I was taken by surprise and completely captivated by the erudition, mental agility and linguistic ability of the speaker,
In remembrance of a heroine of Salonika Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson Naomi Tsur, who was born in England and moved to Israel in 1966 to study Classics and Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has had a varied career, ranging from coin curator in Israel’s Antiquities Authority to co-authoring a Hebrew-English/English-Hebrew dictionary and heading the Society for the Protection of Nature in
Naomi Tsur to push for green tourism Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –Taxi! Taxi drivers the world over are a race unto themselves. The taxi drivers of London, have to acquire ‘The Knowledge,’ which involves studying London’s streets till they can find any address, and have to pass an exam to gain their taxi license. These days they are separated from
Taxi drivers around the world are a special breed Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Trivia, Humor & SatireThe Jews and Germans of Hamburg; The Destruction of a Civilization, 1790-194 by J.A.S. Grenville; Routledge, London and New York, 2012, 330 pp. By Dorothea Shefer Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — This thorough study of the history of the city-state of Hamburg, a thriving Hanseatic port in north Germany, describes in almost unbearable detail the
Hamburg’s Jewish history told Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I wanted to prepare a suitable version of the advertisement for my book, The Balancing Game for inclusion in the website of the San Diego Jewish World, which posts my articles from time to time and whose motto is ‘There is a Jewish Story Everywhere.’ For this purpose I
Should SDJW change its masthead font? Who knew? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, ISRAEL –Just as Americans remember where they were when Jack Kennedy was assassinated, Israelis remember where they were when the sirens went at 2 p.m. on Saturday, 6th October, 1973. Anyone who is now under forty or had not yet immigrated to Israel and wasn’t there at that crucial time
In the maternity ward at the onset of the Yom Kippur War Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A white card with black lettering fell out of a book as I took it down from its shelf. This turned out to be an invitation sent in 1963 to members of the Society for Jewish Study and the B’nai Brith Leo Baeck (London) Lodges to attend a
Insights into Israel-UK relations from Society for Jewish Study Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM –There comes a moment when words are not enough. That moment is now, just one week after the death of my 28-year-old niece, Naomi. There are no words of consolation, no words that can convey the terrible depths of sorrow this bereavement has brought to my sister and her family, as
In memory of Naomi Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food