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 — Oh, no! Not another election, I cried when I heard the news on the radio. Once again, after enjoying an uplifting symphony concert we get into the car, turn the radio on to catch up on the day’s news and are hit with the devastating information that since […]
Here We Go Again: Another Election in Israel? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Opinion
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel —The novel Silbermann by Jacques de Lacretelle, which I read in French, was first published in 1922 It describes the life of a French schoolboy and his relations with a Jewish classmate. The general atmosphere in the school is one of rigid discipline and, as is often the case
A Prescient Account of Life in Pre-War France Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The title of the lecture given by Yivsam Azgad under the auspices of the Israel Translators Association was billed as “Translating Science.” Although I personally did not translate that kind of material when I worked as a translator, I have a passing interest in the subject due to
Translating Science Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — To start with, Tel Aviv features the Mediterranean Sea, with its long sandy beaches, kept relatively clean by the municipality, with designated areas for people to play games (ah, the dreaded “matkot” with their constant noisy batting to and fro of a ball against wooden bats), another area
Tel Aviv: Israel’s Playground Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Travel and Food
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Jerusalem International Book Forum was held once more this year. The opening ceremony included a (virtual) presentation of the Jerusalem Prize to British author Julian Barnes by the mayor of Jerusalem (accepted by the representative of the British Council
The Changing World of Books Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, LifestylesBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A few years ago an enterprising resident of the suburb where I live, just outside Jerusalem, initiated and organized an association providing social and cultural activities for the growing number of retired persons living here. Since then the association has reached over one thousand members and conducts a
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was recently made aware of the importance of being careful to avoid falling by the incident in which a friend who is a little bit younger than myself fell in her home and broke her hip. This involved a trip to the emergency room of a local
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We all make decisions in our lives. Someone like me (i.e., a very old person) has had to make decisions at many points in my life — what to study, whom to marry, where to work, where to live, whether to have another child, what to cook for
The Road Not Taken Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, Middle East, Opinion
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — From Broken Glass: My Story of Finding Hope in Hitler’s Death Camps to Inspire a New Generation, by Steve Ross, is truly an inspiring story. Interspersed with the author’s vivid recollections of being incarcerated from the age of 8 in a succession of concentration camps are accounts of
Author’s Vivid Accounts Range From Nazi Death Camps to Boston’s Worst Neighborhoods Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, International, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — As Passover approaches the word “tradition” assumes increasing prominence in the lives of Jews — and Israelis. Each ethnic group, and each family, has its own traditions regarding the way the festival is celebrated (cue musical interlude “Tradition” from “Fiddler on the Roof”). This was brought home to
By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — Whether you call the city Lvov, Lviv, or Lemberg, the place that was once a center of culture and commerce in Ukraine is currently the scene of destruction and devastation. Now that the whole of Ukraine is being subjected to attack by Russia, I am reminded of the
The Irony of it All Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Holocaust, InternationalBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It goes without saying that a certain amount of cognitive dissonance is inevitable in the psyche of anyone living in Western society in this day and age. Our mental balance depends on finding a way of coping with the situations in which we find ourselves. Recent events in
Living with Cognitive Dissonance Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, OpinionBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — We thought the age of war in Europe was over. We thought that people of intelligence and culture had learned to cooperate and at least to prevent the senseless destruction of property and lives. We thought that the lessons of the past had been learned, and that the
In This Day and Age Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, OpinionBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I was born in London in 1942. My parents were refugees, stateless and penniless. The fact that I was born in that specific place and time gave me the right to remain in England, and hence also enabled my parents to remain there. It was wartime, London