maurits de bruijn

What happens when, later in life, you are confronted with the limited truth in which you were raised? “You lose your illusions—only to discover, time and again, and with growing horror, just how many more you have yet to shed,” writes Benjamin Moser in his book Antizionism, which explores a suppressed tradition that has shaped Jewish thought for generations. Writer Maurits de Bruijn goes into conversation with him about what it means to be Jewish, Zionism, and how one’s own history shapes one’s perspective on the present.

Maurits de Bruijn is a writer and editor. He works for the art magazine Mister Motley and is the author of works including the novel Man maakt stuk (Man Breaks Things), which was shortlisted for the Libris Literature Prize. He also published the non-fiction book Ook mijn Holocaust (My Holocaust, Too). Together with Randy Vermeulen, he created the podcast En niemand bleef onaangeraakt (And No One Remained Untouched), which examines the AIDS crisis and how the stigma surrounding it continues to affect generations of queer individuals. His book Geweten (Conscience) addresses Israel, the Dutch discourse on the subject, his own Jewish background, and the genocide in the Middle East.