Dorothea Shefer-Vanson
Shefer-Vanson is an author and freelance writer based in the Jerusalem suburb of Mevasseret Zion. She may be contacted via dorothea.shefer@sdjewishworld.com.
Why Israelis must endure a new election
Oh botheration. ‘Ere we go again, as the earwig said as it fell off the rim of the jar. The midnight hour struck last night and no fairy godmother appeared to turn the pumpkin...
Play review: ‘My Ex- Step- Mother- in- Law’
Actually, the one-woman show of the above title that I saw last week has very little to do with the subject of the title, namely, mothers-in-law. I am one such, and even an ex-one...
An opera about Auschwitz!?
I was one of the brave souls who attended a performance of the opera, The Passenger’ by Mieczyslaw Weinberg. I did so mainly because a friend of ours was the revival director of the production...
Book Review: ‘Asylum’
Written at the time of the actual events, this powerful book starts by describing the atmosphere in Vienna before the Anschluss by Nazi Germany, followed by the author’s flight, together with his wife and non-Jewish housekeeper,...
Habit voting aided Netanyahu despite all
Now that the actual elections (though not the coalition-building process) are behind us we can stop and think about what we have all just been through here in Israel, and what awaits us in...
A challenge to the ‘cabal’ that runs Israel
Israel is due to hold a general election on April 9th, and polls are indicating that there might be a chance that Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud will not be forming the next government....
Academic sightseeing in the Galilee
An acquaintance connected with the UK’s UIJA (United Israel Jewish Appeal) suggested that I write an article about the Western Galilee College for the AJR Journal (Association of Jewish Refugees), for which I write...
Book Review: ‘A Time Out of Joint’
I picked this book up as its title is very similar to a novel of mine (both quoting Hamlet) and its subtitle describes a path very similar to the one taken by my late...
Book Review: ‘My Brilliant Friend’
This novel, the first of a quartet, has become an international bestseller and has been widely praised in literary circles. So I was overjoyed when I was able to pick up a copy someone...
If music be the food of love …
The idea came to me when the announcer on the radio said that the next item in the music program would be one of Mozart’s ‘Haydn Quartets,’ i.e., quartets composed by Mozart and dedicated...