Ga naar de inhoud

Jelle on Antisemitism for NU.nl

Details

Article

Landecker Fellow Jelle Zijlstra was recently interviewed by NU.nl, one of the biggest news platforms in the Netherlands. The interview took place after Jelle took part in the “De nieuwe Joden” panel about the appropriation of the Holocaust by several groups in society.

In the NU.nl interview, Jelle talked about Antisemitism in the Netherlands as well as the position and feelings of Jews in the country. “Recently, a colleague said to me: ‘You are good with money‘. It was intended as a funny comment, but it comes from somewhere,” Jelle shared, explaining that Antisemitic ideas are part of an “invisible undercurrent” in Dutch society.

Jews are seen [by the far right] as the evil to be fought.

Jelle further commented on the ideological Antisemitism of the far right. “Jews are seen by that ideology as the evil to be fought,” he added.

“I’m not really worried about my safety yet, but I do realize it’s a sliding scale. I don’t know where we are now, but if it continues to slide – and it could take years – there could be a worrisome situation.”

To learn more about Jelle’s insights, read the full article which is available in Dutch on this NU.nl page.

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.