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 — Last year the world marked the anniversary of Mahler’s birth and death, so that we were able to attend more performances of of his music than is usually the case. I was therefore not surprised to find that at the first concert of the season the Jerusalem […]
My Love Affair with Mahler Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Despite claims to the contrary, Israel is a secular country. There is, however, a modicum of truth in the assertion that the stream of Judaism defined as orthodox exerts undue influence, both political and social, over various aspects of life in Israel. Notwithstanding, the majority of Israelis remain doggedly secular,
Paradoxical as it sounds, the majority of this Jewish country is secular Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Jewish ReligionBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I never know whether to laugh or cry when I read those perennial complaints that things are getting worse, the country (no matter which) is going to the dogs and ‘fings ain’t wot they used to be.’ The trouble is that change happens, it is inevitable, we are
Jewish critics of Israel need to accept the facts of life Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MITZPEH RAMON, Israel — I’ve never been to a passing-out parade at Sandhurst or West Point, and am not likely ever to go to one, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the ceremony at which my granddaughter was made an officer in Israel’s Air Force (no, she’s not a pilot) was
My granddaughter, the Air Force officer Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–The Punic Wars, the Roman Empire; the migrations and conquests of the Germanic tribes; the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Barbarians; the split between the Roman and the Byzantine churches; the Islamic conquest of Spain; Charlemagne; the Wars of the Three Brothers, which ended with the treaty of Verdun in 843; the
Europe’s history of warfare, treachery, and peace offers lessons to Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-VansonBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson JERUSALEM–As a child in London in the 1950s I enjoyed listening to the radio on the days that I managed to persuade my mother that I was too ill to go to school. Somewhere between ‘Whistle While you Work’ and ‘Mrs. Dale’s Diary’ was a programme where someone with a German accent
Bird Watching in Jerusalem Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — I never intended to become a translator. It just happened. I first began translating after my daughter was born and I could no longer go out to work. My knowledge of Hebrew was minimal and I frequently had to use a dictionary, but with the passing years this
The varied life of a Hebrew-English translator Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel — When I first moved to Israel, some forty years ago, there was one supermarket in Jerusalem, and perhaps a few more in Tel Aviv. My housekeeping requirements as a student were not very great, and I seem to remember my forays to the supermarket as rare occasions, requiring
Going to market in Jerusalem is a gender issue Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –As a result of a chance encounter at Lod airport at the beginning of the year I met Robi Damelin, spokesperson for the Parents Circle – Bereaved Families Forum, the group uniting Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families in an effort to attain peace, reconciliation and tolerance. Robi was struggling
Bereavement unites Palestinian and Israeli parents Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–“Refugees.” That word means many different things to many different people. The readership of the magazine of the Association of Jewish Refugees (the British publication for which I also write) is loosely defined as having once fallen into that category. By today, however, most of those who once sought refuge from a
For refugees, policies of host countries make all the difference Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle EastBy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–Been there, done that. Why was Israel not affected by the global economic crisis to the same extent as some other countries, specifically the US and the UK? It was probably due to a number of factors. In the 1980s, due to a combination of ideological rigidity and economic
How Israel avoided the global economic meltdown Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –No, not the conductor, Otto Klemperer, but his cousin, Viktor, Professor of Romance Languages at Dresden University. Most of Viktor’s extended family had left Germany for the US well before 1939, but Viktor had no children, was married to a non-Jew, had fought in the German army in the
Music and diary revive dark feelings of Shoah Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel–“You must read this,” a friend said, thrusting some typed pages into my hand. They contained the text of a speech given by Elena Bonner, the Jewish widow of former Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, at the Freedom Forum held in Oslo, Norway, in May 2009. I read the typescript with
Elena Bonner tells Norwegians about their double standard Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East, USABy Dorothea Shefer-Vanson MEVASSERET ZION, Israel –As readers of this column will have surmised by now, my husband and I are keen concert-goers. Israel abounds in opportunities to attend inspiring orchestral concerts, uplifting chamber performances, and impressive solo recitals. We try to attend as many of these as our energy and pocket allow, and these
Music and history abound throughout Israel Read More »
Dorothea Shefer-Vanson, Middle East