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Dorothea Shefer-Vanson[/caption]
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson is a freelance journalist based in Mevasseret Zion, Israel.
Her published works, available on Amazon, include:
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* 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
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I think I’ve lost track of time. What day of the week is it? Does it matter? What difference does it make anyway? All the days are the same in this time of isolation, or single confinement, if you prefer (actually, double in my case as my husband is with me). [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Over a month in pandemic confinement Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, LifestylesThe author was born into a Muslim family living in Canada, so therefore she grew up in a modern, pluralistic and capitalist society while being educated in the tradition of the Muslim religion. In the first part of her book she identifies herself as a lesbian, a journalist and a feminist with an inquirinig mind and openness to interaction with other cultures. She has studied the Koran and the various Muslim texts extensively, and has come to the conclusion that the way the religion is pursued in most Muslim countries today is in fact a travesty and a distortion of its original principles. [Book review by Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Author probes ‘desert Islam’ versus its cosmopolitan form Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastWhat lies ahead? How long will we remain cooped up in our houses (some of us less ‘cooped’ than others)? And what will the world look like when all ‘this’ is finally over? I don’t share the view of some people, namely, that things will go back to being just as they were before. In fact, that’s hardly likely to happen given the economic upheaval that most countries – Israel included – have undergone, and the heavy financial burden that governments and individuals are having to bear. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Contemplating life after the coronavirus Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle EastThere’s too much drama going on in my life. First there’s the coronavirus and all its ramifications – seclusion, isolation, alienation, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, to name but a few. And on top of all that, there’s the political situation in Israel. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Coronavirus, political machinations — what’s next? Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastThe nightly news programs on TV here in Israel are full of gloom and doom, with predictions from health and financial experts of the awful fate awaiting many of us. The icing on the cake comes in the form of the almost-nightly harangue from our ‘beloved leader’ telling us of the latest restrictions and attendant penalties awaiting us on the morrow. Each such harangue is peppered with supposedly casual references to that person’s wonderful relations with foreign leaders, great achievements in Israel’s general situation and transparent digs at his political opponents. The fact that Israel’s current political situation is a mess is due in no small measure to the manipulations and shenanigans of that particular leader. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Political machinations in Israel during c-virus pandemic Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastI’m ready. I had no need to stock up on toilet paper, pasta, tins of food or any other staple, as I am always certain to have good supplies of those items. Anyone, like myself, who has lived in Israel, and especially Jerusalem, for over fifty years, has learned to always be well supplied with good stocks of foodstuffs. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Stocking up for emergencies an Israeli constant Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & EducationThe Coronavirus, also known as COVID 19, is spreading steadily throughout the world. At first it seemed to be confined to one region of China, then to other places in the Far East, but now it’s getting closer every day, appearing first in Italy and then in the rest of Europe, the Middle East and now even Israel. The unfortunate Israelis who happened to be on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, commonly known in Israel as the coronaship, were first confined to their cabins for a fortnight, then isolated in Japan, and when finally allowed to return to Israel (not all of them though, as a few were found to be carriers before being able to board the plane bringing them to Israel, so had to remain behind), only to be subjected to another two weeks of isolation in a hospital in Israel. One sad result of this was that one couple had to be separated, the wife returning to Israel and the husband remaining in isolation in Japan. Those two happen to live quite near to me in Mevasseret, though I do not know them personally, I’ve read about them in the local paper, and my sympathies certainly go out to them. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Coronavirus curtailing normal life in Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Lifestyles, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA
Our correspondent in Mevasseret Zion, Israel, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, has written a sixth novel, this one called A Ruffled Calm. As with her previous five novels, Shefer-Vanson has illustrated the cover of her book with one of her own art pieces, seen to the right of this story. [Donald H. Harrison]
SDJW correspondent publishes sixth novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABased on extensive research, the author describes what happened to the Paris art gallery that her grandfather, Paul Rosenberg, owned and directed in the first part of the twentieth century, until the invasion and occupation of France by the Germans in 1940. When France was taken over by the Germans all Jews, including the Rosenbergs, were deprived of their citizenship and property. In its heyday the Rosenberg Gallery exhibited the works of painters such as Matisse, Braque, Picasso and others with whom Paul Rosenberg maintained warm relations and in some cases, especially that of Picasso, a close friendship. Many of these artists were defined as ‘degenerate’ by the Nazis, although that did not prevent them from using these works for their own ends, often selling them to museums and collectors who paid handsomely for them.[Dorothea Shefer Vanson]
History tells of Nazi looting of Rosenberg gallery in Paris Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish History, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, USATwo politicians in Israel recently referred to music in one context or another. This made me prick up my ears and pay attention, which is not something I usually do when I come across statements by politicians, in Israel or anywhere else. The first was the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. When asked why he preferred to stand trial for the crimes and misdemeanors of which he is accused, he replied (not his exact words, but the gist of them): “The judges in Jerusalem go to synagogue and the judges in Tel Aviv go to the Philharmonic.” What he was implying was that the judges in Jerusalem are honest, god-fearing people, while the ones in Tel Aviv are hedonistic heathen. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
The cacophony of politicians talking about music Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy some strange coincidence – or perhaps not – in the same week as many world leaders gathered in Jerusalem to mark (celebrate?) the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I was in the middle of reading a book about one child’s experience of anti-Semitism. And that child’s experience reminded me of one of my own at a similar age. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Two children face European anti-Semitism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, InternationalAlbert Cohen wrote this book when he was eighty years old and approaching death, as he states early on in this book. It describes his experiences and emotions when, on his tenth birthday, he encountered a street vendor in Marseilles, where he was living at the time. A small crowd had gathered around, and the boy was fascinated by the colorful goods the vendor was selling, so bought some trinkets with the money his mother had given him for his birthday. The vendor noticed the boy’s dark hair and eyes and began insulting him for being Jewish, telling him to ‘shove off, scum,’ and ‘we don’t like dirty bloodsucking Jews here.’ The people around him either laughed or kept quiet, adding to the boy’s pain. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
A 10-year-old boy encounters anti-Semitism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryHere in Israel all is not sweetness and light. Far from it. I have always tried to present the more pleasant side of life in Israel, and it certainly exists, political differences notwithstanding. But the grim state of public life at present cannot be ignored. After all, what sane country has to hold three general elections in the space of less than a year? [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Stalemate casts pall over otherwise content Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastIt seemed only natural, after hearing and reading about the terrible conflagration in Australia, to reach out to our friends and acquaintances there to ask how they were faring. Most sent back fairly optimistic replies, reassuring us that their lives and homes were not in danger, though the ever-present smoke made daily life less pleasant. [Dorothea Shefer-Vanson]
Australia’s wildfires are a warning to us all Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, The World We Share, USA