A place where Israel is loved

The Jerusalem Post ^ | Jul 1, 2009 | MICHAEL FREUND

[forkinsocket]

Tucked away in a far corner of northern Europe, the tranquil and resourceful nation of Finland often gets unjustly overlooked. Flanked by a swaggering and increasingly quarrelsome Russia to the east and its larger and blonder Swedish neighbor to the west, the Finns seem to receive neither the attention nor the consideration that they rightly deserve.

Indeed, despite being beset by harsh winters and a dearth of arable land, as well as enjoying the dubious distinction of being the European Union's most sparsely populated country, Finland has nonetheless built one of the most pleasant and peaceful societies on the entire continent.

There is little crime and virtually no political corruption, and public places are spotlessly clean, bordering on the pristine. It is akin in many ways to Switzerland, except that the Finns are nice.

But there is something else that distinguishes Finland, setting it apart from much of the rest of contemporary Europe, and that is the deep-seated love and admiration for Israel that exists among large sectors of the public.

On a recent trip to the country, which included a lecture tour in six towns and cities, I found what can only be described as a remarkable level of support for the Jewish state, one that cuts across religious and regional boundaries. From the capital of Helsinki to Tampere, Finland's third largest city, to the small town of Ikaalinen in the western part of the country, hundreds of non-Jews in each locale came out to demonstrate their solidarity.

There are churches where the Israeli flag is proudly displayed side-by-side with the Finnish national colors, and where entire Christian congregations recite "Hatikva" first in Hebrew and then in Finnish.

Literally dozens of Finns approached me to recount how proud they were to have spent periods of time volunteering in Israel at schools and in hospitals or on kibbutzim. They voiced great concern over Iran and its nuclear ambitions, and many pray for Israel and its welfare daily.

In Helsinki, Pastor Seppo Seppala approached me and, much to my surprise, engaged me in conversation in fluent Hebrew. He has been to Israel dozens of times, and continues to bring groups of Finnish tourists. And he is not alone. Without exception, after every speech I gave, there were always several non-Jews who came up to me and addressed me in Hebrew. Many take part in weekly private Hebrew classes, taught by fellow non-Jews, simply out of a love for the language and the people of Israel.

PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY is the fact that Finnish Christian support for the Jewish state is not the province of any one particular denomination, but rather it includes such diverse groups as Baptists, Pentecostals and Lutherans. However much they might disagree over theological or doctrinal issues, when it comes to Israel they stand united.

This was most evident at a day-long meeting I attended on June 14 in Heinola, a town in the south-central part of the country. Organized by the dynamic Finnish branch of the International Christian Embassy-Jerusalem (ICEJ) under the leadership of Juha Ketola, it brought together dozens of pro-Israel community leaders from across the country to discuss efforts to promote and support aliya.

For the past two decades, the Finns have been actively involved in helping Jews from the former Soviet Union to move to Israel, and Helsinki served as a gateway to Zion after the fall of communism.

On March 10, 1990, the indefatigable Kaarlo and Ulla Jarvilehto, a former member of the Finnish parliament who headed the ICEJ Finland branch at the time, teamed up with the Jewish Agency to help the first Soviet Jewish family go through Helsinki on its way to Tel Aviv. Since then, the Finns have sponsored the aliya of well over 17,000 Russian Jews.

As I sat and listened to the proceedings with the aid of a translator, an extraordinary exchange unfolded. The representatives discussed contingency plans in case there was a crisis and large numbers of Jews had to leave for Israel via Finland at a moment's notice. They then began to argue with one another - politely, of course - over which Finnish towns or cities would welcome the Jews, with each one wanting to make sure that his or her community was not left out.

I couldn't help but marvel at the fact that after centuries in which Europeans often vied with one another to get rid of Jews, here were Finns competing for the right to host them.

What accounts for this phenomenon? To some extent, it is based on certain parallels between Finland and Israel, both of which are small countries which had to fight for independence and whose historically ravenous neighbors have occasionally coveted their land. But in many instances, it is because Finnish Christians feel a profound religious and spiritual obligation to champion Israel due to God's promise to Abraham that "I will bless those who bless you" (Genesis 12:3).

OF COURSE, not all is rosy in Finland. In January, for example, the Finnish Green League's paper Vihrea Lanka published a cartoon strip in which the Star of David was compared to a swastika. The paper's editor offered a peculiar justification for the caricature, asserting that "it is quite clearly the flag of Israel featured in the strip and not just any Star of David," as if that somehow makes it OK.

And the general Finnish media, like much of the mainstream press throughout Western Europe, is often biased and slanted in its coverage of the Middle East.

Nonetheless, it is refreshing to see that there is a place in Europe where Israel is truly loved. So much of our focus is on our foes and those who hate us, that we often don't pay enough attention to our friends.

This needs to change, and Israel and world Jewry must do more to cultivate relations with Helsinki, where the ground is fertile for deepening the bonds of friendship between the two countries. For at a time when anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment are on the rise, it is comforting to know that in at least one corner of Europe, there are countless thousands of good and decent people with a warm place in their hearts for the Jewish state.

[forkinsocket]

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[Lonesome in Massachussets]

One more reason to like Finland. (Fighting the Soviets is my favorite.)

[dfwgator]

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Pony trekking or camping,
Or just watching TV.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
It’s the country for me.

You’re so near to Russia,
So far from Japan,
Quite a long way from Cairo,
Lots of miles from Vietnam.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I want to be,
Eating breakfast or dinner,
Or snack lunch in the hall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

You’re so sadly neglected
And often ignored,
A poor second to Belgium,
When going abroad.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland, Finland, Finland,
The country where I quite want to be,
Your mountains so lofty,
Your treetops so tall.
Finland, Finland, Finland.
Finland has it all.

Finland has it all.

[GOPGuide]

I thought most of the Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Sweden and Norway were pro-Israel?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

O, Finland, behold, your day is dawning,
The threat of night has been banished away,
And the lark of morning in the brightness sings,
As though the very firmament would sing.
The powers of the night are vanquished by the morning light,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.
O, rise, Finland, raise up high
Your head, wreathed with great memories.
O, rise, Finland, you showed to the world
That you drove away the slavery,
And that you did not bend under oppression,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.

Finlandia-hymni words written in 1941 by Veikko Antero Koskenniemi

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Members of the Norwegian Parliament wear the keffiyeh to show solidarity with the Palestinians. Scandinavian countries these days are more anti-Israeli than Germany, on the whole.

[forkinsocket]

Never been there myself, but a friend has been to Norway & told me they were completely anti-Israel & pro-Palestinian. I’m not sure about the others.

[Maine Mariner]

One factoid about Finland (some addition help from FREPERS will be appreciated).

The language of Finland is similar to the language of Hungary.

I could be mistaken but when I was growing up Finland was not considered part of Scandinavia at least in the context of my geography classes. Scandinavia consisted of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland.

[Mr. Mojo]

Interesting article — thanks for posting. Makes me want to travel there.

[SJackson]

Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

Finland, where during the wars of 39-44 Jews prayed in view of their Nazi "allies" confronting the Soviets, Finland not willing to consider any restrictions on the rights of their citizens, Jewish or otherwis.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Thanks for the wonderful post.

[12Gauge687]

I think it’s vaguely related to Estonian also. Interesting how languages are spread or migrate.

You are correct in regards to Scandinavia; I also learned that Finland (Suomi) was a separate group despite similar physical appearances to other ethnic groups in the Baltic.

[12Gauge687]

I think it’s vaguely related to Estonian also. Interesting how languages are spread or migrate.

You are correct in regards to Scandinavia; I also learned that Finland (Suomi) was a separate group despite similar physical appearances to other ethnic groups in the Baltic.

[Hawthorn]

>> I think it’s vaguely related to Estonian <<

Much closer than “vaguely.” The Finnish and Estonian languages are about as close as Spanish and Italian — meaning that if a Finn goes to Estonia and speaks only Finnish, the locals can usually understand him without much difficulty.

On the other hand, Hungarian isn’t understood by Finns and Estonians, even though the Hungarian language is definitely a cousin to Finnish and Estonian (and to the Lapp language as well).

[fieldmarshaldj]

"Can I Finnish ?"

[Stultis]

Penciling in Finland on the “Where To Flee To” list...

[zeestephen]

Other interesting notes:

80% of religious Finns are conservative Lutherans.

There are only 5.3 million Finns, but they often have the tallest Olympic basketball team in the world.

[Jack Black]

I’ve pinged Archy who has forgotten more Finnish history than most anyone else knows.

[Jack Black]

The Finn’s are a mixed people, like Americans. Lapp, Slavic and Scandanavian. I think the Slavic predominates.

[Jack Black]

The Finn’s are a mixed people, like Americans. Lapp, Slavic and Scandanavian. I think the Slavic predominates.

[Slings and Arrows]

Tom Lehrer?

[rmlew]

Not really. It is close to that of Estonia, to the Saami (Lapp) languages, and to the Finnic languages spoken by many in northern Russia and by Finns in Russian occupied Karaelia. It is like saying Latin and Modern German are similar in so far as both are Indo-European and German is somewhat influenced by Latin.
Most modern liguists consider Finno-Permian, Ugric (Hungarian), and Samoyed languages to be distinct families in the Uralic language group.

[dfwgator]

Monty Python.

[Viiksitimali]

The Uralic languages (pronounced /jʊˈrælɨk/) constitute a language family of 39 [1] languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt. Countries that are home to a significant number of speakers of Uralic languages include Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Slovakia.
The name "Uralic" refers to the suggested Urheimat (original homeland) of the Uralic family, which was often located in the vicinity of the Ural Mountains. However, there is no reliable proof of this, and modern scientists often place the Urheimat further to the west and south, close to the Urheimat of the Indo-European languages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uralic_languages

Recently, mitochondrial (female lineage) and Y-chromosomal (male lineage) DNA-markers have been started to use in tracing back the history of human populations. For the paternal and maternal genetic lineages of Finnish people and other peoples, see, e.g., the National Geographic Genographic Project and the Suomi DNA-projekti. In essence, the types of mtDNA markers of Finnish people do not differ from those of other European ethnicities.[38] For example, Haplogroup U5 is estimated to be the oldest mtDNA haplogroup in Europe and is found in the whole of Europe at a low frequency, but seems to be found in significantly higher levels among Finns, Estonians and the Sami.[39] Of modern nationalities, Finns are closest to Cro-Magnons in terms of anthropological measurements.[40]

With regard to the Y-chromosome, the most common haplogroups of the Finns are N3 (58%), I (29%), R1a (7.5%) and R1b (3.5%).[41] Haplogroupe N3, which is found only in a few countries in Europe (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden and Russia), is a subgroup of the haplogroup N (Y-DNA) distributed across northern Eurasia and estimated in a recent study to be 10,000–20,000 years old and suggested to have entered Europe about 12,000–14,000 years ago from Asia.[42]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finns#Genetics

[12Gauge687]

Thanks! A very interesting explanantion of the similarities and differences between Finns and other Europeans. Had no idea that Romanian was also related to Finnish and Estonian; it seemed more similar to Italian.

[Viiksitimali]

Romanian is an Indo-European language but there is Hungarian minority like in Serbia and Slovakia.

[Slings and Arrows]

Ah, thanks! Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t recognize a Monty Python reference.

[tessalu]

Finland has two languages, Finnish and Swedish, and they do not understand each other. I have a friend from Finland, who lives in the South, and he speaks Swedish, as does all of his neighbors.

[SunkenCiv]

Indeed, despite being beset by harsh winters and a dearth of arable land, as well as enjoying the dubious distinction of being the European Union's most sparsely populated country, Finland has nonetheless built one of the most pleasant and peaceful societies on the entire continent. There is little crime and virtually no political corruption, and public places are spotlessly clean, bordering on the pristine. It is akin in many ways to Switzerland, except that the Finns are nice. But there is something else that distinguishes Finland, setting it apart from much of the rest of contemporary Europe, and that is the deep-seated love and admiration for Israel that exists among large sectors of the public.

Alas, a lot of greenie politicians in Finland.

[Berosus]

Now I know which country I’m visiting, the next time I go to Europe. This may explain why, of all the European countries that joined the Axis, only Finland did not hand over any of its Jews to Hitler.

[dervish]

Thanks for posting.

[TomasUSMC]

Yep, those Finns wuped Russian butt back in ‘39.