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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By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — A few days ago I received an unusual email. It came from someone I had never met, but whom I knew was the person who was looking after an old friend from long ago. In the mail I was informed that Inge was bedridden, near to death, unable to […]
Bikur Cholim — The importance of a visit or a phone call Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Obituaries & memorials, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I know I’ve written before about Verdi’s Requiem, the role it played in my childhood and musical education in general, about the impression made on me when I read of its performance by prisoners in Theresienstadt and finally being privileged to attend a performance of the reconstruction of
Book of the Dead, Yom Kippur and Verdi’s Requiem Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — What is it about women’s hair that preoccupies people so much? There was a time when it was considered unseemly for a woman to be seen with her hair uncovered. Still today Queen Elizabeth is never seen without a hat, and presumably for a similar reason it is
Reflections on women’s hair Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Trivia, Humor & SatireBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — So now ‘radical Islamist’ terror has spread to Paris, the center of culture, civilization and enlightenment. Last January Paris was subjected to a similar heinous attack, but that was confined to targets that could be – and were – dismissed or defined as ‘appropriate,’ i.e., the offices of a satirical magazine
The Paris massacre as seen from Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle EastSan Diego Jewish World thanks and acknowledges the wonderful contributions of the following writers whose works appeared on our pages in December, 2015: Stephen Baird Kenneth Bandler Laurie Baron Michal Beruven Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Richard L. Cravatts Jonathan Greenblatt Toby Klein Greenwald Ryan M. Greiss Donald H. Harrison Natasha Josefowitz Rabbi Ben Kamin Morton
SDJW thanks its December 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Eva Trieger, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Mimi Pollack, Natasha Josefowitz, San Diego County, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –After some difficult weeks in which my other half was obliged to attend to structural damage to property of ours caused by an incompetent contractor working for a neighbor, I managed to persuade him to book us a weekend in a hotel by the Dead Sea, so that I could
Israel: Where going to the Dead makes you feel so alive Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, Travel and FoodBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The TV series, Call the Midwife, which is based on Jennifer Worth’s book of that name about her own experiences of working as a midwife in the impoverished East End of post-war London, has aroused widespread interest and enthusiasm, first in Britain and subsequently all over the world.
Book tells how ‘Call the Midwife’ became a TV series Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — Set apart from the usual concerts in the framework of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra’s subscription series was one entitled ‘First Prize,’ and dedicated to young musicians ‘from east and west’ who had succeeded in various international competitions. So we bought tickets for a concert with Yeol Eum Son, a young pianist
Yeol Eum Son wows Jerusalem audience Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Middle East, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — It always looks worse from the outside than the actual situation on the ground. Of course, wherever and whenever violent attacks occur there is mayhem, often with tragic consequences, but life in Israel goes on pretty much as normal everywhere else, though there is a noticeably greater police
Arab merchants most hurt by continuing violence Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastSAN DIEGO — San Diego Jewish World thanks and would like to acknowledge those writers whose works appeared on this news publication during the month of November. They were: David Amos Kenneth Bandler Laurie Baron Jeremy Ben-Ami Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Stephen Bryen Dane Chapin Tamara Isaacs Ciocci Cynthia Citron Richard L. Cravatts Steve Diamond Joe
SDJW thanks its November writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Cynthia Citron, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eric George Tauber, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Lloyd Levy, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Natasha Josefowitz, San Diego County, Sheryl Rowling, Shoshana Bryen, Steve KramerA history of early Nazi Germany worth reading In the Garden of Beasts; Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson; Broadway Books, New York, 2011 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — The Garden of Beasts in the title refers to the inhabitants of Berlin’s Tiergarten, the park in central Berlin that once served
Never Again: Holocaust news for November 23, 2015 Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish HistoryA Curious Coincidence and a Visit to Yad Vashem By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM — The anniversary of the Pogrom of 9th November 1938, otherwise known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, is marked every year by Jews all over the world. It is not a religious occasion, but does nevertheless serve to unite Jewish
Never Again: Holocaust news for November 16, 2015 Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, International, Jewish HistoryThe Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; St. Martin’s Press, 2015 By Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I picked this book up in the local bookshop thinking it would make good holiday reading. It did, but it’s not exactly the sort of light reading one takes along to read on the beach. The tale it tells of France under German
World War II from a French girl’s perspective Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Dorothea Shefer-VansonSAN DIEGO (SDJW) – San Diego Jewish World acknowledges and thanks those writers whose works appeared on our daily news website during the month of October. They were: Yael Aires Laurie Baron Dan Bloom Shoshana Bryen Morris Casuto Ben Cohen Richard L. Cravatts Toby Klein Greenwald Donald H. Harrison Natasha Josefowitz Rabbi Ben Kamin Steve
SDJW thanks its October 2015 writers Read More »
Barry Shaw, Donald H. Harrison, Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Eileen Wingard, Eva Trieger, Fred Reiss, EdD, Ira Sharkansky, Lawrence Baron, Mark D. Zimmerman, Melanie Rubin, Michael Ordman, San Diego County, Shoshana Bryen, Steve Kramer