Finland Denies Gas Masks to Israelis -- tantamount to attempted murder

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[Inkie]

Sorry this isn't from print media, but I learned today from a panel consisting of Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, David Horowitz and Steven Emerson that Finland is refusing to sell Israel what are the best gas masks in the world so Israeli men, women and children can PROTECT themselves from (not attack) their enemies! Boycott Nokia.

[yonif]

The anti-Semetics have come out of the closet again. The clock is turning backwards.

[yonif]

Finland refuses to sell Israel gas-detection kits (see Arutz-7 article below). Please email your protest to the Finnish Foreign Minister or call the Finnish consulate. See below for a sample letter to copy or modify.

FINLAND REFUSES
Finland refuses to sell to Israel what are considered to be the best in gas-detection kits in the world, despite widespread evaluations that Iraq may attack Israel with poison chemical weapons. The computerized kits accurately identify chemical warfare materials, but Finland claims that the European Union forbids the export of dual-use equipment to countries in conflict.

An email response sent in the name of Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja explains that Finland did agree to sell Israel "thousands of gas masks" - of which Israel already has a sufficient amount. On another occasion, however, Tuomioja delivered a speech in which he said that he is "appalled at the Israeli policy of suppression, humiliation, subordination and impoverishment towards the Palestinians..." Tuomioja's e-mail address, is Erkki.Tuomioja@formin.fi.


More from Arutz7--11-1-02:


RESPONSE TO FINLAND'S RESPONSE
Many Arutz-7 readers have registered their complaints with representatives of Finland and its government regarding the country's refusal to sell critically important gas-detection kits to Israel. Finland was considerate enough to formulate a response to the complaints, in which it explained that it sold Israel 10,000 gas masks last year, that the gas detectors are intended for "testing purposes only," and that the decision was made in accord with EU principles.

In addition, the response notes that "before the recent crisis in Palestine [wording that appears in some versions of the response], Finland granted licenses for exports of two examples of the previous models of gas detectors" but that "in both cases, the exports for demonstration purposes did not lead to larger commercial deals."

Some questions remain unanswered, however. Israel has an acute and immediate need, in light of the danger that Iraq may attack Israel with chemical weapons, for the gas detection kits. How will last year's sale of 10,000 gas masks help Israel in its all-important gas-detection efforts?

In addition, the relevance of the fact that the kits are for "testing" is not clear. Assuming they are operative - as other parts of the letter imply - why should they not be exported to Israel? Thirdly, to whom did Finland grant the license for exports over two years ago, why did this "not lead to larger commercial deals, and how will this help Israel now?

Finally, the reference to "Palestine" reveals much about Finland's approach to the current Middle East hostilities. No entity exists by that name; could Finland possibly be referring to the Holy Land as Palestine? If the reference is to the Palestinian Authority, why does Finland consider the crisis to be taking place there, and not in Israel?

Arutz-7 directed these questions to Finland yesterday, and is awaiting a response. Readers may also direct these questions to piritta.asunmaa@formin.fi and Mirja.Covarrubias@formin.fi.


SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Honorable Foreign Minister Tuomioja,
As you know, Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, finds itself caught in the shadow of the upcoming conflict between Iraq and the United States. During the last gulf war, Saddam Hussein lashed out -- not at the Arab members of the US-led coalition -- but at Israel, launching Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and other Israeli civilian population centers, even though Israel was not a belligerent and had no part in hostilities directed
at Iraq.

As you also know, Saddam Hussein has repeatedly demonstrated that he has no regard for the norms of conduct -- accumulating biological and chemical weapons that he has used on his own people many times in the past. In any new gulf war, it is reasonable to assume that Saddam will again attack Israel. Indeed, he has said he will, and that he may well use chemical and biological agents against the Israeli population in those attacks.

My understanding is that your country produces the most advanced, state-of-the-art gas detection kits in the world, and that in light of the looming conflict, which puts mothers and children at risk of being gassed in their homes in Israel, the Israeli government has attempted to purchase these kits from Finland. I also understand that Finland has refused to sell the kits to Israel.

There can be no conceivable basis for refusing to provide defenses to civilians who are subjected to a risk of chemical and biological weapons in a conflict that is not their own. I also find it hard to believe that you would feel comfortable with permitting a new generation of Jews to be gassed, as were their parents and grandparents before them during the last world war, while you stand idly by. Your decision in this regard reflects poorly on the great country of Finland, and I urge you to reconsider your policy. In the meantime, please be advised that pending a change of your government's position, I intend to reexamine closely my purchases of Finnish products, and urge my friends and colleagues to do the same.

Sincerely,

Your Name
Address
Phone Number

[marbren]

Wasn't Finland a NAZI country in WW2? A lot of Aryans there I guess.

[realpatriot71]

Why should any country have to sell anything to any other country? Give Finland the finger and buy masks elsewhere.

[Fred Mertz]

I thought the Finns were tightwads and would welcome the chance to milk a client.

[okie01]

"Wasn't Finland a NAZI country in WW2? A lot of Aryans there I guess."

Don't overdraw your conclusion from the fact that Finland was, indeed, allied with Germany during WW II.

The rest of the story is that:

1. Finland declared war only upon the USSR and refused to become involved on any other front.

2. Finland was actually responding to the unprovoked attack that the USSR mounted against her in 1939 -- the so-called first Russo-Finnish War.

Further, Finnish forces were involved in the encirclement of Leningrad during the Winter of 1942. However, one of the reason's that the siege failed was that Finland refused to advance beyond her pre-1939 border. She had won back what was hers...and, there, she stopped.

[Inkie]

No one said they had to. But it is pretty disgusting that they choose this to make a point (what point? that they have solidarity with the murdering Palestinians or Saddam Hussein, who would love nothing more than to gas Israelis?). And yes, they can get masks elsewhere, but the Finnish ones are apparently the most effective, according to (I think it was ) Prager.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Finland's airforce used the swastika before the 3rd Reich.

Finland has some very beautiful, very blonde women, some of whom are bound to be anti-Jew. I never really paid attention to the men.

The world does not want a war which is really won, especially by the Jew.

Israel must be self-seficient in world class strategic goods.

The Warsaw Uprising lesson is to never depend on anyone coming to defense of of Jew.

[Hacksaw]

Didn't Finland get smacked by the Ruskies in WW2?

[PoorMuttly]

Why don't we buy them ?

Muttly needs a new one anyway, and the more the merrier.

[Inkie]

Yes, I suppose you're right. And I daresay, this is exactly what they will do. They can't count on anyone else in the world and will have to do everything themselves. Be that as it may, I will make a big effort not to spend any money on anything that is Finnish or has a whiff of Finnishness about it!

[marbren]

nokia

[marbren]

Didn't Finland get smacked by the Ruskies in WW2?

yes they did

[Jhoffa_]

On another occasion, however, Tuomioja delivered a speech in which he said that he is "appalled at the Israeli policy of suppression, humiliation, subordination and impoverishment towards the Palestinians..."

I guess he won't sell many gas masks to Jordan either eh?

[lewislynn]

A perfect example of what can happen when you depend on imports and or foreign manufacturing.

If you don't think it can happen here, just make the connection with the near panic when a couple of ports were closed for a few days. There's even fear that delaying Mexican trucks for inspections at the border might harm "the economy".

[SevenDaysInMay]

I guess you're being Finnicky.

[Willie Green]

The year that wages went down and then some (Israel)
[ISRAEL] Unemployment reached 10.4% in third quarter

Seems to me Israel oughta get their unemployed off their duffs making their own gas-masks.
That way they wouldn't have to rely on decades of handouts from other nations.

[elmer fudd]

Finland's airforce used the swastika before the 3rd Reich.

The swastika was widely used and didn't have any negative connotations before the third reich. The Boy Scouts even used it on a merit badge.

[elmer fudd]

Didn't Finland get smacked by the Ruskies in WW2?

Yes and no. The Russians were in a dominant position at the end of the war and were pretty much able to dictate terms to the Finns, but the Finns had proved such tough opponents that the Russians didn't want to invade if they could achieve their aims by diplomacy instead. Although Russia was in a position where they could have invaded and won, they had already lost huge numbers of soldiers to the Finns and they didn't want a repeat of their victory in 1939 where they had lost hundreds of thousands of troops for very minimal gains, (the kill ratios were something like 20:1). Finland became an ally of the Soviet Union but had much greater autonomy and freedom than any other satelite state.