Two of a kind

Finland and Israel are geographically and culturally quite distant from each other. So what could these two countries possibly have in common? I have listed some (fun) observations below – real similarities or not...

1. Blue & White

In Finland the colors blue and white have a significant meaning to the people. Our flag bearing a blue cross against the white background is said to symbolize the skies, lakes and snow. The Israeli flag features the Star of David, and the stripes and colors, again blue and white, come from the Jewish tallit (prayer shawl).

tundratabloits.com

2. Roar like the lion
In addition to the colors of the flag, you can notice from the picture above the use of the lion. When visiting Jerusalem, I couldn't help noticing how the city's crest resembled a lion we in Finland see on our passports, national ice hockey team jerseys...

3. Right on time

For the most part, the time in Finland is the same as in Israel. Only for short periods when turning the clocks for summer or winter, there is an hour of time difference. As mentioned before, some Finnish phones accidentally followed the Israeli time.

4. Poverty deep within

Neither of the countries is rich in natural resources. While both are trying to make the best out of Mother Nature's scarce blessings, both countries could regard the people & high level of education as their best asset.

5. Petite is beautiful

Israel's total km2 area is tiny compared to Finland, but both countries are relatively small when looking at the big global picture. The amount of inhabitants is roughly the same, although the Israelis outnumber the Finns and continue to do so.

6. Citius, altius, fortius

Alas, it will never be. Both Israel and Finland strive to succeed in international sports competitions, but to their country men's disappointment fail many times. Not that there's a lack of talent or potential – both just seem to choke up during an important event. Intriguing who will win the next football match: KuPS or Maccabi Netanya?

Mind you, though, there is a Finnish-Jewish athlete, Elias Katz, who won Olympic gold and silver for us in Paris in 1924. :)

jewishsports.net

7. Fight for the limelight
Both Finland and Israel seem to have a strange kind of longing to be acknowledged by the rest of the world. If it's not sports that will break the news, then something else: a local actor/actress making it to a Hollywood movie or topping the ranking in an international research on education level. These seemingly small things are big news back home in Israel or Finland. I'm guilty as charged, too: I was delighted that Etgar Keret mentioned Finland in his book - we're famous!

8. Food for thought

It is very challenging to define the Finnish cuisine. We seem to serve Swedish meatballs and Norwegian salmon. Israel's situation isn't any better – nearly each country in the Middle East claims ownership for falafel and hummus.

9. Pa-russki

During the 1970s, over 160 000 former USSR people immigrated to Israel due to their Jewish background and today Russians are one of the biggest minorities in the country. Finland, thanks to immediate proximity to Russia, has received a fair share of the Russian immigrants, too. So much even that some suggest making Russian an official language in Finland.

10. Very FIT

Israel is famous for many innovative IT company start-ups. Finland tries to keep up, although we haven't produced anything exciting since Linux and Angry Birds, and there seems to be no end for Nokia's downturn. In 2004, FIT (Finland-Israel Technology) was established to fund projects in the ICT field.