What is more Jewish than the diversity of voices?

Senior Landecker Fellow Jelle Zijlstra was interviewed by the Swiss newspaper Tachles about his project: The Jewish Manifesto.

In the article titled “What is more Jewish than the diversity of voices?,” Jelle together with Tori Egherman share about their experience as Jews living in The Netherlands, and discuss their plans for the Manifesto.

“When I talk to non-Jewish Dutch about our conversations, they are shocked at how uncomfortable Jews feel here, and that they are afraid to tell others that they are Jewish,” Tori describes.

What is more, “we notice again and again in conversations that non-Jewish people in the Netherlands know very little about Jews,” Jelle explains, noting that this the case in many societies. “The Jewish Manifesto is a really exciting project because it connects and conveys meaning,” he adds.

Jelle and Tori further share that they want to talk to a total of 300 people. The Manifesto, aimed to be published in 2024, will condense all these conversations. The plan is to publish it on an interactive website, where individuals can comment and interact. Last but not least, Jelle and Tori would also like to publish the Manifesto as a book.

Learn more

• Read the article in full (in German) on this Tachles page.
• Learn more about The Jewish Manifesto. 
• To stay updated on his endeavors, follow Jelle on LinkedIn!

Jelle is one of thirty 2021-2022 Landecker Democracy Fellows. This fellowship, a collaboration between the Alfred Landecker Foundation and Humanity in Action, was created to strengthen a new generation of leaders whose approaches to political and social challenges can become catalysts for democratic placemaking and community building. Read more about the fellowship here.