Outrage over Holocaust lecture delay at Utrecht higher-ed; No problems at Leiden Univ.

Several people have reacted with anger at the decision by Hogeschool Utrecht (HU) to postpone a series of lectures about the Holocaust. The academic institution, known internationally as HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, claimed the decision was because the safety of speakers could not be guaranteed. But the Telegraaf quoted a spokesperson as saying earlier that more time was needed to put the October 7 Hamas attack “in a broader perspective.”

It is necessary that the education system continue to actively address “the horrors of the Holocaust “, said caretaker Education Minister Robbert Dijkgraaf. He calls on academic institution staff “to urgently continue to fulfill this important task, even when it is difficult.”

According to Dijkgraaf, “commemorating, telling and teaching about the horrors of the Holocaust is and remains important. There is no discussion about this and it is completely separate from the tensions that the conflict in the Middle East entails,” a spokesperson relayed.

NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt took to social media platform X to ask what happened to HU’s “moral compass.” Omtzigt complained about the HU cancelling a lecture that involved participation from a Holocaust survivor. The NSC leader said the lectures now need to take place quickly, and then also publicly.

BBB leader Caroline van der Plas called for a parliamentary debate on anti-Semitism, partly because of the HU decision. She said she finds it “incomprehensible” that the university announced its decision on the day that the Holocaust was commemorated in the Netherlands. The lectures are now planned to start from February 7.

Naomi Mestrum, director of the Jewish and Israel lobbying organization CIDI, said that giving in to threats and intimidation is the last thing we should want in this day and age. CIDI organized the lectures together with HU. Safety issues can also be resolved easily, Mestrum said.

The Dutch-Israeli Community of Utrecht called the postponement of the lectures “harmful for improving the level of knowledge” about the Holocaust. “Knowledge about the Holocaust and genocide can contribute to a more balanced and nuanced debate about the war in Israel and Gaza,” they wrote in a statement.

Utrecht Mayor Sharon Dijksma was not involved in the decision to postpone the lectures, though the office would normally have been involved in such decisions, her spokesperson said. The mayor’s office has now been in contact with HU, and together they are looking at how the lecture series can be held at another time.

A similar situation did not arise at Leiden University, where a lecture on the Holocaust will take place as scheduled on Monday evening. The meeting will not be canceled or postponed and the content will not be changed. Organizers there have maintained contact with the municipality and the police to keep an eye on things, which the university said is “usual for a subject like this.”

Spiritual advisor Herman Teerhöfer will speak in the Kijkhuis about his interviews with approximately 90 people who survived the Auschwitz extermination camp. He made a documentary about those conversations, which he called, “Auschwitz, Our Story.”