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:

Feline interruptions not cat-astrophes for the orchestras

  By 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. […]

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

On Translating Martha Glass’s Diary

   By 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

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

What Muslim countries teach their students about Jews

By 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

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Travel and Food

If Middle East is in turmoil, why does life seem so pleasant?

By 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

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East

‘Less is more’ at the reconstructed Israel Museum

  By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — After several years of work, the reconstruction of the Israel Museum ended last summer when, amid fanfares and extensive publicity, the museum re-opened its doors to the public. We volunteers did not stop working during the period of renovation, but our activities were severely curtailed. So it was with great

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson

How Middle Eastern countries teach children about the ‘other’

 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — 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, psychologist Shelley Elkayam. Situated in

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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Science, Medicine, & Education