Jel­le Zi­jl­s­tra

Jelle Zijlstra (he/him) is a Dutch-Jewish activist and community organizer working for Greenpeace Netherlands. Trained as a theatre director, Jelle has worked on numerous theatre projects around a wide variety of societal issues in the Netherlands such as poverty, the position of refugees, and the problematic nature of WWII remembrance in the country.

Jelle recently put most of his theatre work on hold because he felt a strong need to be at the frontline of the climate crisis and thus started his job at Greenpeace. He has also become involved with Queers 4 Climate, a grassroots group that focusses on the intersection between the climate emergency and the position of queer communities worldwide.

His Jewish and Queer identity is deeply connected to his activism, and he is one of the co-founders of Oy Vey Acts, a collective of Jewish activists that work on several issues related to being Jewish in a Dutch post-Holocaust context. To unwind Jelle loves taking long walks in nature or cooking a hearty meal for his friends.

Updated February 2025