Exposing white Finnish privilege #74: The anti-Semitic beast inside Jussi Halla-aho

THIS STORY WAS UPDATED

In a recent debate with Center Party chairperson Annika Saariko, the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party head, Jussi Halla-aho, was put on the hot seat after asked about his anti-Semitic blog writings.

He denied being an anti-Semite and said that the claim was a popularity stunt by Lauri Nurmi, who recently published an unofficial biography of him and made such an observation.

Why didn’t the reporter at the debate ask two questions: “Are you, Halla-aho, an anti-Semite and an Islamophobe.”

The PS and how it treats minorities, especially Muslims, expose the power and privilege white Finns have. It is like living in a near-perfect world. You can eat your racist cake with impunity and have it at the same time.

While Finland’s 100,000-120,000-strong Muslim community has little to no political power and is constantly reminded that they can never be equal members of society, the smaller Jewish community is a different story.

The Jewish community in Finland has historically suffered from anti-Semitism. A characteristic of this form of racism is that you silence the victim and plug your ears to their objections.

Matias Turkkila is the editor of the PS party’s newspaper who confirmed Halla-aho’s anti-Semitism and that of the party’s as well.

In the tweet, Turkkila overlooks or believes that we do not know who Juha Kärkkäinen is. For starters, he was fined in 2014 for publishing anti-Semitic writings of Adrian Salbuch, Ted Pike, David Duke, and others, as well as cartoons that bear a striking resemblance to the former Nazi tabloid, Der Strümer (1923-45).

The anti-Semitic writings were published in Magneettimedia, a publication of his stores that continues to be rife with anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and Nazi glorification. It is today no longer edited by Kärkkäinen but by neo-Nazis.

Some PS politicians give to the Jews and Israel is disingenuous because it is based on hatred towards Muslims, like the video clip below of Halla-aho speaking to a session of the European Parliament in 2017.

Finnish historians are well aware of Halla-aho’s anti-Semitic writings. Below are some quotes that expose the PS leader’s racism against Jews and how he is a Holocaust denier.

Retroactively opposing the Holocaust is nicer and easier than getting involved in solving present-day problems. It is nice to accuse the Germans because cosi fan tutti. Armenians are irrelevant, because Armenians don’t own Hollywood and the American media.

Published in the blog Scripta Kansanmurhista ja niiden muistamisesta, January 28, 2004. See Wikiquote.

It is justified to consider the Nürnberg trials a farce. Guilt was decided in advance, and the justifications for the sentences were absurd. For an example Alber Speer (an architect) got a long sentence since he knew about the holocaust but didn’t try to prevent it. As if a person living in a dictatorship should fight against the dictatorship even if it costs his life.

Hommaforum, November 16, 2010. See Wikiquote.

Five PS MPs are members of the far-right Suomen Sisu association. Even Halla-aho was a member in 2000 and admitted in a Helsingin Sanomat interview last year that he was no longer a member of such an association. Suomen Sisu’s reading list recommendations include anti-Semites like David Duke and Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi war criminal hanged after the Nuremberg trials.

FINNISH WHITE PRIVILEGE #74

Considering that Yaron Nadbornik, president of the 1,100-strong Jewish Community of Helsinki, the Finnish authorities acknowledge that anti-Semitism is a problem. It was only until in 2018-2019 when it was acknowledged by the authorities, according to him.

While this is a positive sign, the Muslim community of Finland and some other minorities like the Roma still have a lot of catching up to do. If the authorities are starting to acknowledge anti-Semitism, they still do not see the elephant in the room regarding Islamophobia.

The PS is an example of how power and privilege can blind you from your own racism and use it opportunistically to attract voters and get power. Apart from being an Islamophobic party, it is also anti-Semitic.

I am certain that politicians like Halla-aho do not look at themselves in the mirror every morning and exclaim “what a racist I am.”

The best we can do, then, is to strive for a society that is vigilant about enforcing laws against all forms of racism and for the media to expose such acts as shameful and unacceptable.

See also:

• Defining white Finnish privilege #1: I have it and you don’t
• Defining white Finnish privilege #2: Third culture children versus “pupil with immigrant background” 
• Defining white Finnish privilege #3 No history, no doctrine, no heroes and no martyrs
• Defining white Finnish privilege #4 Holding the short end of the stick
• Defining white Finnish privilege #5 It’s ok to be a racist
• Defining white Finnish privilege #6 Not having a voice and the media
• Defining white Finnish privilege #7 A definitive guide
• Defining white Finnish privilege #8 Underrated and less intelligent
• Defining white Finnish privilege #9 Mohammad Ali’s insight
• Defining white Finnish privilege #10 I can victimize and make up any story I like about migrants because I’m white
• Defining white Finnish privilege #11: Case Teuvo Hakkarainen
• Defining white Finnish privilege #12: Case Tom Packalén
• Defining white Finnish privilege #13: Case Matti Putkonen
• Defining white Finnish privilege #14: Losing sight of the real issue
• Defining white Finnish privilege #15: Case Halla-ago on the PS
• Defining white Finnish privilege #16: Rosa Emilia Clay and my history versus yours
• Defining white Finnish privilege #17: The Perussuomalaiset and our civil rights
• Defining white Finnish privilege #18: Labeling others according to your prejudice
• Defining white Finnish privilege #19: My rape statistics about your group
• Defining white Finnish privilege #20: Labeling Others to strengthen “us” and “them.”
• Defining white Finnish privilege #21: Who can be a Finn?
• Defining white Finnish privilege #22: From racist, fascist to a politician without memory
• Defining white Finnish privilege #23: Greater police powers to monitor migrants and minorities
• Defining white Finnish privilege #24: Becoming a heartless accomplice in wars and people’s suffering
• Defining white Finnish privilege #25: This land is my land, this isn’t your land
• Defining white Finnish privilege #26: Are you an ethnic Finn?
• Defining white Finnish privilege #27: White versus Other media
• Defining white Finnish privilege #28: Are you an ethnic Finn (Part 2)?
• Defining white Finnish privilege #29: Your family is worth less than mine
• White Finnish privilege #30: Whitewashing and racializing the news
• White Finnish privilege #31: The Soldiers of Odin and the Finnish media
• White Finnish privilege #32: The white Finnish police and “them” 
• White Finnish privilege #33: Appropriating our narrative to maintain the status quo, amass more power and privilege
• White Finnish privilege #34: Building a political career on privilege and nativist nationalism   
• White Finnish privilege #35: Case Sampo Terho and the ministry of (dis)culture
• White Finnish privilege #36: Hate speech and censorship
• White Finnish privilege #37: The master of near-everything
• Defining white Finnish privilege #38: Cultural appropriation and racism are quaint discussion topics between white Finns
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #39: The Hollywood ending of racism that will never happen in Finland
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #40: To whitewash or to disenfranchise
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #41: An Islamophobic politician and gender equality 
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #42: Labeling and shaming
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #43: White versus dark skin
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #44: Defending Nazis’ rights to march is ok as long we agree on the common enemy
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #45: Do blondes have more fun? 
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #46: Teuvo Hakkarainen = white racism and sexism 
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #47: President Sauli Niinistö’s “culture inside four walls”
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #48: Allow me to smear your religion so mine can shine
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #49: When white privilege backfires 
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #50: Caving in to white narratives
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #51: The police are the defenders of white power and privilege
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #52: Having no privilege is dangerous
• White Finnish privilege #53: Plan Finland’s unplanned pregnancy campaign #ProtectBlackGirlsToo #Whatofme
• White Finnish privilege #54: Disguising your racism, bigotry, and prejudices effectively
• White Finnish privilege #55: It’s that time of the year – Christmas! 
• White Finnish privilege #56: How Islamophobic is Finland?
• White Finnish privilege #57: Finland’s “hostile environment” against migrants
• White Finnish privilege #58: How the police, media and politicians fuel Finland’s hostile environment against Muslims and migrants
• White Finnish privilege #59: In this country, you are guilty before proven innocent
• White Finnish privilege #60: Oulu, OULU! Awaken and sniff the racist coffee.
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #61: #NoRacismInUniversity #WeAreNotSkinColour
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #62: On free speech and scared white men
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #63: Silence and acting dumb are the swords of institutional racism
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #64: The cancer of institutional racism in Finland
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #65: Racism exists because our society profits from it
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #66: Abdirahim Husu Hussein and dealing with racist passengers in a racist environment
• Exposing Finnish white privilege #67: Pirkka-Pekka Petelius’ apology exposes deep-rooted white Finnish supremacy
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #68: The party that injects Finland’s Islamophobia with steroids and other hate-enhancing drugs
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #69: At the dentist – do you speak Finnish?
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #70: At the dentist’s and where are you from?
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #71: Hate speech is an example of white supremacist privilege
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #72: False police reporting is an example of violence and open hostility
• Exposing white Finnish privilege #73: Stoking and exploiting white suspicion