BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam//NONSGML v1.0//EN NAME:Far-right ideology – our campus and society METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20260330T160000 DTEND:20260330T173000 DTSTAMP:20260330T160000 UID:3D-far-right-ideology-our-camp@8F96275E-9F55-4B3F-A143-836282E12573 CREATED:20260924T230246 LOCATION:3D | VU Dialogue Stage, 1085, De Boelelaan, 1081 HV, Amsterdam SUMMARY:Far-right ideology – our campus and society X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

A conversation about tolerance, safety and our sphere of influence

Experts poi nt to a return of far-right ideology, neo-fascist tendencies, and the ir normalization in our society. Our VU campus is no exception. In re sponse to an incident on the VU campus last November, theater maker S imcha Zijlstra and former Member of Parliament Daniëlle Hirsch recen tly wrote in Het Parool: "If we truly want to learn from history, we must acknowledge that the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews, wa s the outcome of a horribly recognizable process that is still unfold ing worldwide today. That process begins with normalizing it." Daniel le and Simcha believe that intervention is necessary. This means, for example, that we should not commemorate the Holocaust as an unrepeat able and unique event, but as a man-made disaster that can happen aga in, in a new guise, with new victims, fueled by the same mechanisms o f hatred, dehumanization, and apathy as in the 1930s and 1940s.

But what does this mean for the presence of far-right sympathies on our campus, and how does this fit into a broader picture of exclusion and the undermining of democracy and the rule of law? Is this fascis m or not? And if so, why do we find it difficult to call it that? Wha t can we, as the VU community, do within our broader society to colle ctively help halt this process?
Join the discussion with Simcha an d Danielle in 3D on March 30th. During this meeting, we aim to create space for discussion about fear and perceived powerlessness on our c ampus and the university's perspectives for action in relation to soc iety.

Simcha Zijlstra is a theater maker and activist.
Danie lle Hirsch is an economist and former Member of Parliament for GroenL inks/PvdA.

DESCRIPTION: A conversation about tolerance, safety and our sphere of influence Experts point to a return of far-right ideology, neo-fascis t tendencies, and their normalization in our society. Our VU campus i s no exception. In response to an incident on the VU campus last Nove mber, theater maker Simcha Zijlstra and former Member of Parliament D aniëlle Hirsch recently wrote in Het Parool: "If we truly want to le arn from history, we must acknowledge that the Holocaust, the murder of 6 million Jews, was the outcome of a horribly recognizable process that is still unfolding worldwide today. That process begins with no rmalizing it." Danielle and Simcha believe that intervention is neces sary. This means, for example, that we should not commemorate the Hol ocaust as an unrepeatable and unique event, but as a man-made disaste r that can happen again, in a new guise, with new victims, fueled by the same mechanisms of hatred, dehumanization, and apathy as in the 1 930s and 1940s.But what does this mean for the presence of far-right sympathies on our campus, and how does this fit into a broader pictur e of exclusion and the undermining of democracy and the rule of law? Is this fascism or not? And if so, why do we find it difficult to cal l it that? What can we, as the VU community, do within our broader so ciety to collectively help halt this process?
Join the discussion with Simcha and Danielle in 3D on March 30th. During this meeting, we aim to create space for discussion about fear and perceived powerles sness on our campus and the university's perspectives for action in r elation to society.Simcha Zijlstra is a theater maker and activist.Danielle Hirsch is an economist and former Member of Parliament for GroenLinks/PvdA. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR