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 — 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 FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Time was when going away on vacation meant that one was cut off from one’s nearest and dearest for the duration, whether it was a week or two, or even longer. Gone are the postcards we used to send to relatives, friends and neighbours, to remind them of
The trouble with keeping in touch on vacation Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and FoodTEL AVIV (Press Release) — Yitzhak Rabin, who served as Prime Minister of Israel during two separate periods, 1974-77 and 1992-95, was a figure who towered over his generation. The first native Israeli (‘sabra’) to serve in that office, he was assassinated by an extremist right-wing Jew in November 1995, at the conclusion of
Rabin Centre in Tel Aviv depicts his life and Israel’s history Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — One of the readers of the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees), published in London, to which I contribute a monthly column entitled ‘Letter from Israel,’ wrote an irate letter to the editor complaining about what I write. They wrote: “Why doesn’t Mrs. Shefer-Vanson write about the real
Jerusalem and Northwest London Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It is a matter of routine for the majority of Israel’s population that when children, whether boys or girls, reach the age of eighteen they go into one of the forces that make up the IDF in order to give two or three years of service to
When a grandson finishes his IDF training Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East
By David Amos SAN DIEGO –Every trip to Israel is an adventure, a revelation. No two trips are the same, and our recent ten day visit was no exception. Yes, we had the usual encounters with family and Israeli musicians, but after not being in Israel for years, we were treated to the country’s phenomenal
A Jordanian guide’s dream of peace Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The subject of the status of women in Israel is a tricky one, because on the one hand Israel aspires to be a modern, democratic society, and in the public sphere women are treated as equals, on the whole. On the other hand, though, its laws
Women’s status in Israel reflects a long ago age Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson TEL AVIV–Going to gala concerts isn’t really our thing, but when the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra announced that in honor of its return to the refurbished Heichal Hatarbut (Palace of Culture), its home in Tel Aviv, it would be performing Mahler’s fifth symphony, along with Beethoven’s violin concerto (with Itzhak Perlman as soloist)
Ahhh, Mahler, Beethoven, Perlman and Mehta! Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Although I was not in Jerusalem for Jerusalem Day this year, having been called away to fulfill grandparental duties, it was very much in my thoughts. I still have a very clear memory of those six days in June, just 46 years ago, when I was only dimly able to
Israel Museum provides Christian tours for volunteers Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–The exhibition currently on show at the Israel Museum reveals just a tiny fraction of the grandeur and ambition of King Herod, the Idumaean who once ruled Judea with some help from his Roman patrons. He was known mainly for his grandiose building projects throughout the region, most notably the Second Temple in
Israel Museum features exhibit on King Herod Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson EIN BOQEQ, Israel — Just one and a half hours’ drive away from my home just outside Jerusalem lies the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, whose water is so salty that the human body can float quite easily on its surface. It rains very rarely and the temperature there never
Ah, the respite of the Dead Sea Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The world is in tumoil. But is it any more so than usual? Perhaps yes. Young Jung Kim Un is threatening to use nuclear weapons against someone, maybe the US, possibly South Korea, or even Japan, or any of the countries of South-East Asia (which constitute the world’s
Something familiar about all these world troubles Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –Having grown up in a British home where Passover/Pesach was observed with rigour, it came as something of a shock when I arrived in Israel to find that not everyone did the same. It was only in Israel that I heard about people filling their fridges and freezers with bread
Search for chametz can go to an extreme Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion