No plans for Saturday night?

Whether you're a permanent resident in Helsinki or just visiting, and are into listening to some klezmer music, I suggest you check out a cafe called Bulevardin Kahvisalonki.

In addition to serving delicious coffees and baked goods, approximately once a month on a Saturday evening, a very laid-back jamming session by a versatile variety of musicians is put together in this cafe. Feel free to sing along (if you know Yiddish or Hebrew:) or tap away to the beat with your feet. The atmosphere is relaxed and funky! Be sure to come a bit early, as the tables are bound to be occupied quite quick.

Next time I need to bring some friends to get acquainted with this folk music, as it really is a treat for us Finns to be served this kind of entertainment. There's no entrance fee nor tickets, so you can easily attend for the sheer pleasure of it. And thanks for a certain someone blog reader for tipping me off for this klezmer jamming session. You were great! :)

In order to avoid any copy-right issues, I'm posting a clip from YouYube, recoded at the same cafe a few years back.

PS. The Helsinki Klezmer Festival for 2013 is coming up! Check out the details here.

We are what we eat

I recently read a book on all things kosher. The topic interests me, as I happen to love food and in my culture, there aren't any restrictions when it comes to eating food. We Finns can chow on pork, bear meat and hare. In a city called Tampere, they just love mixing blood in their sausages making the sausages black, and this autumn's crayfish season is just closing in. We can flush all this down with a glass of milk - a very typical drink even for adults at a mealtime. The raspberries we pick may have some tiny maggots in it. But like my grandmother - and now mother says, it's OK to eat them - they are practically made of the raspberry anyway.

Finnish blood sausage wrapped in bacon - do not try to sell this in Israel! (pic from lautasellasi.blogspot.com)

An observant Jew would probably faint at this point. Or to say the least, feel very disgusted. Actually, I also started feeling a bit queasy when thinking of a greasy pork ribs with melted cheese and a glass of milk. Ew. Keeping kosher in Finland would be extremely hard, and the only way out I can see is to become a vegetarian. Then you would be on the safe side for the most part.

www.israeli-t.com

Nowadays when I eat or cook, I often find myself thinking if this is "kosher" (OK, even though the beef or chicken I buy here at the super market isn't officially kosher). The other day I was cooking a nice beef steak with chanterelles and onions, and topping it off with cooking cream, I couldn't help but think of Deuteronomy 14:21 from the Bible... You know, the part about not cooking a kid in its mother's milk. A while back, I was attending a seminar and the buffet lunch had pork for the warm meal - the second option being shellfish mixed with rice. One weekend when doing BBQ with friends, we took big mushrooms, filled them with cream cheese and wrapped the whole thing in bacon. A Finnish summer BBQ delicacy but a taunting nightmare for anyone keeping kosher.

(www.biblicallykosher.com)

The book that I read had some really interesting insights to the kosher rules. Firstly, only recently has the European Union passed regulations for kitchens to have separate utensils for vegetables, dairy products and meat, in order to prevent bacteria from spreading. At an observant Jewish home, this has been a tradition for centuries already.

www.ekollel.com

What also makes sense is not to eat anything naturally dead. And check an animal that you have slaughtered if it was fully healthy. It is kind of disgusting to think what exactly could be found in a cheap frankfurter or minced meat - the production line where they generally throw all the crap that's left. Probably they throw in anything that wasn't good enough to be used as plain meat. Eating blood is a big no-no, which, you know, should be left only for vampires anyway. And since humans aren't really the top of the food chain, we shouldn't go after beastly animals that could as well kill us.

All the rules, in the end (according to the book), actually encourage people to live in harmony with the nature and above all, respect the nature. In addition, having discipline like this when it comes to food is good for the human nature. Gluttony and freely stuffing your face hasn't been proven healthy anywhere on this planet.

I have been allergic to fish and shellfish since I was a baby. It used to be so bad back in the day that my face would swell up even if I smelled fish. Nowadays, actually towards the end of this summer, I have learnt that I am no longer allergic to shrimps and crayfish. Hooray! But I couldn't help but wonder if this was one of G-d's jokes on me: I'm a shiksa, so of course I should be able to enjoy a shrimp or two every now and then. Whatever the irony might be here, I guess I should in the end be grateful for any medical healing (or blessing) that comes my way.

www.memegenerator.com

Northern Star #3

Not only in random buildings in Helsinki, the familiar Magen David can be found in an old Finnish bank's savings box. Länsi-Suomen Osake-Pankki was established in 1912 and merged into other banks in 1929. This means the savings box was made some time between 1912-1929.

Sure, spotting this star in Finland might not have any deeper meaning than just being a star - but I find it funny anyway :-).

Your coins are safe here!

Gesundheit!

Often when I visit Israel, people keep on going about the wonderful educational system that my home country has. How come the kids are so smart and always top the PISA tests, what's our secret? I don't have an answer to this question. I guess we are just doing something right, for change.

Another topic often discussed is health care, and here I've had a gut feeling Finland has not got a lot to boast about comparing to Israel. A recent study by Bloomberg proves my concerns right: the health care system built in the 1970s in Finland doesn't serve the country today anymore. It is inefficient, complicated and expensive.

Finland was ranked 23rd the Bloomberg study, losing to countries like Thailand, Poland, Libya and Mexico. These are countries most Finns would like to regard as "lower grade" countries comparing to Finland... Poorer living standard, GDP, infrastructure etc. Ouch - not quite so in every aspect! Israel topped the study and was placed 4th - beating all European countries.

There was an article in a local newspaper a while back how our health care services should be sold to the Russians. They are often seeking treatment outside their own country, and the proximity to this vast market and (relatively) high quality of health care would impose an opportunity to Finland to make an extra buck. The article also mentioned that many Russians actually fly currently to Israel for medical treatment, obvious reasons being firstly, they need no visa to enter Israel and secondly, the quality of medical care is top-notch.

Even though this study doesn't reveal the entire truth, I do think that Finland could have something to learn from Israel. Read an article related to the study here.

Saving Private... Pictures

The IDF recruits - mainly the female ones - have made headlines a couple of times by posting seductive photos of themselves in little clothing accessorized with rifles in the social media. Usually these photos have lead to disciplinary measures in the army, but never-the-less the ladies manages to show another side of, ehm, army life.

Probably one of the world's most useless polls, but The Sun magazine decided to find out which country has the sexiest female soldiers. I could have sworn Israel would have won this due to to recent activity in SoMe, but surprisingly, it was Romania who took home the 1st prize. Israel placed 6th, Finland 8th.

IDF's finest...

www.mirror.co.uk

...and a more humble Finn wearing "cucumber salad".

www.puolustusvoimat.fi

As you probably might know, military service is compulsory for both guys and girls in Israel. And we're not talking about a few months here. At its lowest, you can be done with your service in Finland in mere 165 days. In Israel, guys need to prepare for 3 years and girls for 2. This for teens finishing their high school might seem like an eternity. Finns at that age would be planning gap years and what not, while their Israeli counterparts prepare to endure military life for longer than in many other countries.

I've often wondered how lucky I am in that sense that my local army is not at all interested in my services. In Finland, women are in no way obliged to do military service but can voluntarily join. However, before doing so they need to go through e.g. a medical check to get approval. I have no friends who would have gone through this trouble...

Oy vey what an oil!

My love affair with Moroccan Oil continues... Now I've finally acquired a bottle of this nectar for thirsty hair home. It is a pricey product (125ml bottle costs about 50,00 EUR), but nothing beats the sensation, smell and feeling of soft hair after applying this magic substance.

After checking some prices, getting this good stuff directly from the source is more affordable. A 200ml bottle in Israel would leave me around 40,00 EUR poorer - but still give me twice as much of the oil. Needless to say, next time around I won't be carrying olive oli home from Israel but Moroccan Oil!

Picture borrowed from http://aroundthewaycurls.com

Access denied

Marion Rung is a Finnish-Jewish singer (and therefore a celebrity here), and today an incident at the Jewish cemetary made headlines at a local tabloid. Marion's husband was denied access to the cemetary since he refused to put on a kippah.

It was the one year anniversary of Marion's mothers' death, and the tombstone was being revealed at the cemetary. Marion's husband Kalle Munck had worn a kippah at the funeral itself a year ago, but refused to put it on this time around. Therefore the Rabbi asked him not to join the others at the cemetary but to wait outside. Mr. Munck was offended and sad that he couldn't attend the ceremony and is going to make an official complaint about the incident to the ombudsman. Munck states he, as a atheist, refuses to wear any religious garments. He sees the wearing of the kippah only as a recommendation and the cemetary being maintained with tax payer's money - so wearing the tiny hat should be optional.

Needless to say, this guy was labeled as a jerk, idiot, childish etc. by the readers of the article in the comments section. I have to agree, he wears a kippah one year earlier and now refuses? How disrespectful for his wife and late mother-in-law, not to mention to make this kind of an issue a matter of law and publicity...

I was once denied access to the Vatican because the sleeves of my t-shirt were too short. For goodness sake, a Christian institution bans the visit of a fellow Christian because of clothes! Should I have pressed charges, too? Or what about Mt. Athos in Greece where no women are allowed to enter? That is discrimination, but you don't see any lawsuits around. What a jerk indeed. The Rabbi was right.

(Picture from wikimedia.org)

Read the article here in Finnish.

The Bar fan strikes again

"An endearing moment - ladybug lands on Bar Refaeli's freckled nose". Yes, this is a word-to-word translation of the Finnish tabloid headline found at IltaSanomat. Totally not news-worthy, and yet again on Bar.

My suspicion about an anonymous Bar Refaeli fan being nestled among the writer's team for this tabloid got yet again wind below its wings. The articles rarely have a named author. He (she?) simply writes about the fabulousness of this Israeli model and in the end encourages you "not to fall in despair even though this ultimate dream girl is in a far away land. Be lucky in search of a valentine in May Day parties".

Seriously? :D

See for yourself by clicking here.

Vappu - the Finnish Purim

The title is misleading, as Finland does not celebrate Purim or otherwise officially appreciate the stories why Purim is celebrated. But right now, I am merely referring to the general festival atmosphere that takes over Finland on May Day, much like Israel goes costumes in Purim.

I've seen a glimpse of Purim in Eilat, when I found it amusing that the sales person in GAP was wearing Mickey Mouse ears. Funny. The Finnish Vappu is also about getting your masquerade gear on, buying helium-filled balloons, loud plastic whistles or horns, wearing wigs and whatnot. The tivoli is in town, fixed amusement parks open their doors, the summer is on the brink.

Unlike Purim, the Finnish Vappu has no official root in any religion or bible - albeit its name is derived nowadays from a German abbess. It used to be, once again, a pagan party that over the years evolved in Finland to the working class' day to celebrate in quite formal settings, until the public and especially students adopted it and turned it to an excuse to get wasted.

I can think of two Jewish holidays that in some sort encourage to consume alcohol: one of them indeed is Purim, and the other one is Passover. A lot of cups of wine involved in both of them. Finns don't need Talmud or any other formal reason to get wasted - it is enough to find a reason or to make up one.

The church has never been a source or inspiration for the use of spiritus fortus, except the tiny shot of wine given at communion. In fact, none of the main Finnish drinking festivals can be associated with today's religious holidays: I already explained what's behind May Day, and another time when only a handful of people would be in driving condition in Finland is Midsummer in June, which is originally a pagan festivity (and later moved by the church to the birthday of John - Johannes - which explains the Finnish name Juhannus for the party). The ancient Finns, however, did believe that being drunk and noisy in Midsummer will drive bad spirits away - and still implement this belief in practice.

Whatever the reason, I'm sure both countries host a nice carnival feeling whether it is Vappu or Purim. What you can count on in Vappu is that the weather will be crap. Nonetheless, I've got my costume ready for tomorrow :-).

And PS. isn't it a bit disturbing how many pagan festivals the Christian belief has just adopted and/or moved and turned Christian?

The gay "Marry Me"

It was not a long time ago I wrote here about the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest and Finland's poor success in this merry musical event. But now out of the blue, a parody video of her song has been made - also to reflect a very hot topic currently in Europe related to the title of the song: yes, it's a gay version of Krista's "Marry me"!

Awesome, but what makes it even more awesome, the video was made by an Israeli and a Swiss guy. This is not their first time when using Finland's ESC participants as a source of inspiration - they did a similar video in 2010.

Check out the latest made by the Parody Guys Dekel Ben Avi and Bastien Venturi's and look for glimpses of Helsinki and Tel Aviv! There's no such thing as bad publicity and since 150 volunteers participated in making this video, let's hope this video boosts Krista's success in the upcoming contest! Love is in the air :-)...

PS. Is the onion ring a common joke in Israel? I think I heard it before!

Got to appreciate stereotypes!

Have you ever come across the little book series called Xenophobe's guides? I have, and have two editions - guess which ones? ;-)

The Israeli version I have read through twice, first time last summer. The Finn version I read yesterday for the first time and actually laughed out loud. People on the same airplane turned around to see why I was so noisy (like typical Finns would do).

Usually I am not a big fan of stereotypes, probably because I like to consider myself as a non-typical Finn: I don't like the sauna or summer cottages. I don't go silent in all five languages, I do master smalltalk and use body language and facial expressions when communicating. Even though the Xenophobe's guide to the Finns touches upon these features I don't recognize in myself, the book offered me moments where I had to be honest to myself: alas, this is so true, this is how I am. How spot on.

What about the Israeli one? The great thing about the book is that it actually talks about Israelis - not necessarily pin-pointing Jews. It manages to go where I have not been able to go yet: define what is Israel, who is an Israeli and who is a Jew. Because an Israeli doesn't always equal Jew or Jew an Israeli.

These books are highly recommended reading if you're interested to know about the people in a country. Not where to get good lunch or what are the most important sights, but who make up the country to what is is!

My Seder style dinner

This past week has been important for both Jews and Christians. Passover and Easter coincide this year (again) and Israel has probably been buzzing with tourists, Jerusalem in particular with Christians.

My boyfriend and I were also supposed to go celebrate Passover in Israel this year. But alas, an exam week ruined the plans, so we settled for spending Easter in Helsinki... The grey views, dirty snow, everything closed, much fun.

But then I got this idea, just for the sake of my boyfriend, that since he wasn't able to do the Seder dinner with his family, maybe I could give it a go here in Helsinki.

This all actually started in New York City last June when I bought the below books while visiting the Jewish museum. I don't know why I did it, probably because of pain of a solely Hebrew Haggadah-book was fresh in mind from that year. To take corrective measures, I decided to buy the Hebrew & English version for next time and the museum gift shop keeper was such a good salesman that he sold me the Passover cookbook while at it. He warned me, though, that the recipes are only kosher style. So I guess the whole Seder now in 2013 was doomed to be a bit of kosher style; passover style; Jewish style. Not quite the real thing but something mimicking it, anyway.

Once my boyfriend finally (took a while!) booked his flights here, the real planning started. What do you need to arrange a tiny Passover dinner for two? I started making a to-do list in my mind and some I could cross out immediately...

• Great, the Haggadah I have from New York.
• There's got to be a Seder plate. Without it, it just won't work. Where to get one of those?
• Did the matza have a special plate, too?
• Does Prophet Elijah need a special cup or would a normal one do?
• How in the world do I make my home "kosher for passover"?
• And of course, where to buy the food? 

I decided that Prophet Elijah needs to settle for one of my Iittala Essence wine glasses. I wouldn't be able to arrange the Seder on the right night anyway, and he is probably busy visiting real Jewish homes. So that's going to have to do. What about removing all the leavened food from my home? Please forgive me, but I saw no point of selling all my pots and pans to a goy (ehm, I'm a goy myself). The kitchen I cleaned, I'll give you that, but I won't go on all my fours with a magnifying glass to look for a bread crumb that might or might not be there. I don't keep bread at home anyway.

(Mind you, upon arriving in Helsinki my boyfriend announced he took a loaf of bread from home and brought it here as it would have expired otherwise. So much for the great efforts of getting rid of all the chametz...)

So, let's move on to the plates. A brief thought of stocking up on tiny Iittala Teema plates crossed my mind, but then I thought that would look too hastily put together. I wanted the real thing. There aren't any Judaica stores or museums in Finland, so my best bet was to surf then net. I remembered seeing lots of online store selling anything Jewish, anything from a small star to a massive Menorah. No problem!

But no, wait. All these stores are American web shops. Any purchase above 25€ and I would have to pay customs and VAT and while at it, an arm and a leg. Same goes for all the Israel web shops as it is outside EU purchases.

Plan B then. Google for Jewish online stores in Europe. Thanks to that blessed European Union, I wouldn't have to worry about any customs formalities and paperwork. I found a nice British online store offering all items Jewish, including beautiful Seder plates of glass. A bit pricey, but hey, at least they deliver to EU countries. Just when I was about to place my order, I noticed a warning text in red: glass items won't be shipped outside the UK. And all the Seder plates in their selection were of glass...

Plan C then. Activating the 4th best language I can speak and write, I googled auf Deutsch for jüdisches online Laden. And there was a hit, and boy was it a good one! Judaica4all offered a great selection of products, including Seder plates and this time there were no red warning texts. I found a tray for the matza and some other small items, too, so problem solved. A week later when the items I had purchased arrived in Finland, I had two days of terror with the local post office, as they had handed my parcel to someone totally else! Eize mazal, this person was honest and returned it (unopened) back to the post office, so I could go retrieve it.

So what was left on my list now? Of course, the holy of the holiest in any Jewish holiday... the food. This is touchy, this is the zone and area where shiksas will be beaten to pulp by all the bubbes and Jewish mamas out there. Nothing tastes as good as your mama's cooking - especially if your mama is Jewish! Flashing images of ruining this Jewish holiday for my boyfriend passed before my eyes: mushy matza ball stew instead of a soup and what not...

But there was no other choice but to work with what I've got. A visit to the only Kosher store in Finland, Zaafranco, provided me with a 1kg box of Aviv Matzot, an Osem Matza Ball mix and Israeli honey for the charoset. Bothering relatives, friends of my friends', and lots of googling for easy Passover recipes, I settled for the following dinner menu:

Seder Plate

**

Matza ball soup

**

Oven-baked chicken breast with crunchy Matza meal and almond coating
Oven-baked garlic and onion potatoes

**

Matza brittle
Almond biscuits

Topping this up with five bottles of wine (all of them Kosher for Passover), everything was set for my boyfriend on Friday night. The charoset, Matza brittle, almond biscuits and soup stock I prepared the day before, maror and all the rest on the same day.

And you know what? It all turned out great! I was able to participate by reading some Hebrew parts of the Haggadah. The charoset and maror were tasty, my boyfriend wanted a second round of both the soup and the chicken. The only part we didn't do so well with was the wine - just finished one bottle...

All in all, we had a nice, secluded dinner in great company, blending Jewish tradition in a little bit off-environment. I'm proud of myself that the food turned out to be a success. However, we both agreed that leshana haba'a be Israel because with more people and his mother's unbelievable food (I especially miss the liver), Passover tastes even better! :-)

PS. The next morning, my boyfriend indulged me with Matza brei, an omelet that will keep you feeling full until the evening!

Matza brei, topped with charoset and maror. Great combo, believe it or not!

I can't believe it's Kosher!

Distributing and selling wines and liquor in Finland is state controlled and the only chain of stores allowed to sell these products is called Alko. Naturally, you can buy booze in a restaurant and beers & ciders at a supermarket but if you want anything a bit stronger than that - Alko is the only address in this country.

I'm not a big consumer of alcohol but for some reason I ended up at Alko's website. I could not believe my eyes that they had a special link on the product page for kosher products! Has it always been there, or is there just now because of Passover? Jews of Finland - Alko loves you, but their selection could be a bit bigger.... ;-)

One red, one white. It isn't many but it's something!

Goldie Locks' secret

Well, not such a secret any longer. The famous Moroccanoil products have finally taken off in Finland as well, and you can spot them being sold at many hairdressers' and beauty salons. I was introduced to Moroccanoil some time ago when the long, cruel winter had made my locks look dull, dead and dry. To defy these three D's, my hairdresser introduced my hair to Moroccanoil - and it came back alive!

This winter has been extraordinarily long and cruel. It's mid-March, and we still got freezing temperatures and new snow coming in. I decided to opt for Moroccanoil to battle the syndrome of dry hair, and naturally am happy to support these miracle Israeli products meanwhile. The shampoo and conditioner were expensive, but hey, but you get what you pay for. The flagship product, the treatment oil itself, is something even Madonna would take with her to a deserted island!

Find your favorite product at the official website. For where to buy Moroccanoil in Finland, check this page.

Greetings from Israel! We are here to save you from dull & dead hair!

Northern Star #2

Remember my earlier post about the Star of David featured in Helsinki architecture?

Today, I came across with another example on Pursimiehenkatu street! I wonder what is the history behind this building? It has worked for over 130 years as emergency housing for those in need, but I can't find any facts on the architecture or why these stars are decorating the facade of the building...

Jewish symbolism in Helsinki architecture. I wonder how many I can find...?

Nomen est omen

The Latin proverb that got the honor of serving as this post's header is something I sometimes believe in. The name is an omen. The RMS Titanic sank – after all it was named after the gods that were overthrown by a better race in Greek mythology. Titanic nor the Titans lasted to see the future. Or what about the Finnish football team called Atlantis? Needless to say, they declared bankruptcy and nowadays have disappeared and are never to be found, much like their more famous namesake island.

Jewish names, both first names and family names are a very interesting topic for anyone interested in etymology and history. This is where the nerdy part of this post begins, so stop reading unless you really are interested :). There is the most obvious source for first names: Biblical writings. Abraham, Jacob, Adam, Noah, Ruth, Sarah, Deborah... All familiar names even to the Christians. On a more general note, nearly all names that have an ending -el can be traced back to the Hebrew language: Daniel, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael... Other common first names used by the Israelis or Jews have a more simple explanation in the Hebrew language.

There is a superstition in Judaism (especially among the Ashkenazim) that you must not name a child after a living relative. The Angel of Death might confuse these two persons carrying the same name – and accidentally grab the new-born from here to eternity. And by the way, how is a Jewish naming ceremony of a baby since there is no baptism or Christening? For boys it is at the brit milah ceremony (circumcision, at the age of 8 days) and for girls at a ceremony in a synagogue.

There is a trend among the Jews returning to Israel that they change their change or translate their last name of more foreign origin into Hebrew. Sometimes the Hebraization of the name is very literal: Abrahamovich (the -ovich/-owicz/-owitz ending meaning “son of” in Slavic regions) becomes Ben Avraham. The famous Israel Prime Minister David Ben Gurion chose a more of a free styling change for his name: Gryn became Ben Gurion. Some chose a more thorough road and abandoned their old name altogether, and started using e.g. Ben-Artzi, meaning “son of my land”.

(Mind you, a similar trend aspired in Finland during the 1800s when independence was still a dream – but a desire for a Finnish nation lived among the people. Many people with a Swedish last name changed or translated their last name according to whatever circumstances the family had. Even I would be called Eriksson nowadays if there hadn't been a switch by my great-great-grandfather.)

Many of the Ashkenazi Jews have a very German-sounding last name. Only three family names are of pure Jewish origin to begin with (Cohen, Levi and Israel). But as most did not have a family name but were merely called the son or daughter of someone, the German and Austro-Hungarian empire that in the 1700s imposed the Jews living in the region to adapt a last name... There are beautiful examples of e.g. Edelstein (“precious stone”), Rosenthal (“rose valley”) to more humble names such as Klein (fine, it means “small” but is associated a big fashion house nowadays) or Fisch (needs no translation). You can't judge a person by their last name though: not all German names mean that the person is Jewish. The Sepharic Jews had, by the way, adopted the use of family names much earlier.

Those going through conversion to Judaism usually adapt a Hebrew name for themselves. Traditionally, males pick Abraham and females Sarah. These names are favored because Abraham is quoted in the holy book to be “the father of a multitute of nations” (= hence, he can be the father of a convert having a totally non-Jewish background) and Sarah was his wife. Not everyone goes with the flow, of course. Madonna is known as Esther, and Marilyn Monroe never revealed which Hebrew name the Rabbi gave her from the Bible. My first name would not need much Hebraization: change one letter and there you have it...

This post is merely a scratch on the surface of the interesting world of names. If you're interested to learn more, dig in at behindthename.com, for example.

Not Schindler's list

I was so saddened to see that in my country, some people are seriously still up to some bulls*** like this. Reported by JTA and Finnish newspapers.

Recently, there was an attempted stabbing incident in Central Finland. Far-right extremists attacked a book-reading event at a local library. Now it has turned out that the person conducting the attack was collecting information on Jews living in Finland, and other minorities that conflict with the far-right ideology. A representative from the Helsinki Jewish Community has confirmed that some members have been contacted by the police to inform about this list.

I don't think I need to comment more on this, and everyone can conclude for what kind of reason this kind of lists are kept by some crazy people. Right is against Jews, left is against Jews because of what Israel does. Are the only true friends of Jews & Israel in Finland the Christians of deep faith, who worship Israel as the Holy Land and hence respect its inhabitants dating back to Biblical times?

 Original article in Finnish can be found here.

Modern art pieces

It was a sunny Sunday and I had scheduled to go to Kiasma (the Museum of Modern Art in Helsinki). To be honest with you, I've never been a huge fan of modern art. It is really hard for me to appreciate something that, for the most part, could be created by a five-year-old or even by myself. The 10 EUR entrance ticket felt a bit pricey because I knew I wasn't going to get much out of the visit, but I justified it to myself as a donation for Helsinki's cultural efforts. No Guggenheim, so go Kiasma.

The visit was just as I had expected. A rolled up carpet leaning against the wall or a ashes on the floor didn't provide my soul with high, cultural nutrition. I don't know if I'm missing a gene because most of that stuff didn't open up to me? Fine, some Romanian artist had made some witty wall drawings and slogans regarding today's world, but that's pretty much it. My friend and I roamed the concrete floors of the museum with no clue what we're supposed to get out of it.

Without a quick visit to the 5th floor (which we didn't find by the way before asking the staff for directions), I wouldn't have had anything to share with you. Below are a couple of piece inspired by Judaism, containing Jewish symbols or made by a Jewish artist. Please, don't ask me to explain them to you in detail. I just know what the descriptions said for the pieces and that's it. :-)

Monument (La Fete du Pourim) from 1989, by Christian Boltanski. The collected clothes and faces tell of lives lived. The work does not refer to any specific persons but Boltanksi recycles faces from work to work. Purim is a Jewish celebration that involves wearing masks and costumes.

Wall writings I (2009-2010) by Outi Sunila. Afar, it looks like this...

...and upclose, like this. Random wall writings in public places captured by the artist and put into pins. Tip to the museum: I went to the gift shop to buy a pin from this collection - there weren't any.

Father, not Uncle (Freud/Katharina) 2008 by Michal Heiman. The work re-enacts one of Freud's case studies where a young woman asks him for help with her anxiety attacks. In the video, the artist reads Freud's study (in Hebrew!) while the texts in the video challenge and underline the details. Freud did later admit to altering the story.

Want to visit Kiasma? See their website for more details.

Driving them angry

I don't know if it's the (low) quality of Finnish media or the Finns who have nothing else to talk about, but a recent article on a certain Chevrolet model called SS keeps attracting comments and discussion online. People think Jews pull out the Holocaust-card way too much, and it's getting tiring.

This is what we say, in the country where you can go do your groceries in a KKK-market. No joke here. First world problems?

I tried to screen some Israeli newspaper sources in English for reactions in Israel for this car, without finding much, so how much big of a deal is it there? Is it the official statement of the Government, or an opinion of some individuals? And why do Finns care about this so much? It is not like the car is going to be banned in Finland. What difference does it make here what Israel (or the sources of Yedioth Ahronoth) think of Chevrolet's car naming policy?

Personally, I do find the abbreviation SS very easily to be connected to Nazi-Germany. There is a Finnish newspaper called Savon Sanomat, and their name is also abbreviated to SS. Sometimes when another paper is quoting Savon Sanomat, I had to read it twice since it felt a bit strange to read an article in the 2010s where it's states "according to the SS sources". A bit confusing.

What's puzzling more is that why don't these same people who create a fuss about Israel on this name case comment on other cases where an international company lost it's "battle", e.g. Starbucks changing their logo for the Muslim countries (removing the female figure - because that's offensive) or Ikea photoshopping their catalogue front page and removing the mother from the seemingly nice family picture (because showing a female in long pyjamas with sleeves and pants is offensive, too).

Crazy, crazy world...

Divas, monsters and music!

The time of the year is getting closer... Yeah, yeah, yeah! All the countries in Europe are digging into their national talents to find the perfect, unheard, cheesiest euro-trashpop song to bring home gold in the annual Eurovision Song Contest!

Finland has made its choice and goes to Malmö, Sweden this year equipped with Krista Siegfrids, who is desperate for you to marry her. Check out the video below... Can you spot influence from Katy Perry, 80's Madonna, maybe a dash of Carly Rae Jepsen? I actually quite like it!

Finland has won the Eurovision Song Contest just once since joining in 1961. It happened in 2006 in Athens, when don't-ask-me-where-they-came-from Lordi won the contest with back then records points. Hard Rock Hallelujah rocked Europe and found its way to my iPod, too. I remember that night well when I was in a nightclub and towards the end of the contest, the DJ stopped playing, people stopped dancing, someone turned up the TVs, people gathered around the screens to stare in awe and amazement - is this really happening? It did - and needless to say Hard Rock Hallelujah was played non-stop for the remainder of the night. Never ever had Finland received douze points from so many countries!

Israel has been a bit more successful that Finland in this musical battlefield. They joined the contest in 1973, and have won a total of three times. The most memorable one of the winners is by far Dana International with his her Diva performance in 1998. The 70's were Israel's golden era though when they won twice in a row.

Finland has many years been very confident about succeeding in the contest, but more often than that we've come in last place, sometimes missing qualification and next year's contest even. Those with the money are always in (the UK, Spain, Germany and France) and those with good neighbors are guaranteed with success. Yes, certain blocks for voting have been formed - and Finland is highly discriminated in its own block. The other Nordic countries rarely vote for us, even though we quite diligently always remember to grant at least Sweden some points. For example, Greece and Cyprus can rely on each other, Ireland and the UK favor one another and the Warsaw pact (Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Armenia) always pull through for each other.

Despite the contest being called Eurovision, many non-European countries participate. Israel is a good example of this. I have not noticed Israel belonging to any voting block, so, maybe Israel and Finland should establish one? The Edge Countries Axis? :-)