Should we be surprised if anti-Semitism raises its head in Finland alongside anti-Islam, anti-immigration and anti-gay sentiment? Using the same argument as those who spread hate speech against minorities in this country, Magneettimedia, a publication owned by J. Kärkkäinen, claims that an article by anti-Semitic Ted Pike was published to promote public debate.
J. Kärkkäinen is a company based in Ylivieska that develops and owns shopping centers. It is owned by Juha Kärkkäinen, who is editor of Magneettimedia, which advertises the company’s products and has a circulation of 366,500.
Read full story (in Finnish) here.
The latest anti-Semitic opinion piece published on Magneettimedia by Pike is headlined, The Great ”Raping Rabbis” Cover-Up (Suuri “raiskaavien rabbien” salailu).
He writes: “One of the reasons Jewish control of big media is wrong is that it protects the sins of evil Jews, from Hollywood to New York to Tel Aviv, from being openly subjected to the cleansing effect of truthful analysis and criticism. This morally ghettoizes Jews, shielding them from the oxygen of constructive criticism, a force that functions to bless and mature everyone else.”
Using the same arguments as some Perussuomalaiset (PS) politicians, who have been convicted for ethnic agitation, Kärkkäinen claims no wrongdoing and defends Pike’s right to express his anti-Semitic views.
”We don’t have anything against Jews,” he was quoted as saying on YLE. ”The aim of these writings is to promote [public] debate in society [about Jews].”
The deputy state prosecutor has filed ethnic agitation charges against J Kärkkäinen’s Magneettimediaa for anti-Semitic writings that have appeared in previous issue of the publication.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which hunts former Nazi war criminals and confronts anti-Semitism globally, sent a letter to President Sauli Niinistö expressing its concern over the anti-Semitic writings on Magneettimedia, reports Oulu-based daily Kaleva.
According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Pike is an extremist who has been engaged for years in an anti-Semitic campaign that denigrates the Jewish religion.
Go to original webpage.
Writes ADL: ”To promote his virulent anti-Semitic ideology, Pike often works under the guise of opposing federal hate crimes legislation and upholding free speech and Christian values. He gives interviews to extremist cable TV and Internet radio shows to further disseminate his anti-Semitic views and also links from his organization’s Website to various anti-Semitic sites.”
While it is clear that anti-Semitism is raising its head in Finland and is directly linked to anti-immigration, anti-Islam and anti-gay sentiment, it’s surprising that PS MPs like Jussi Halla-aho, Olli Immonen, Juho Eerola, James Hirvisaari and others are so quiet about the Magneettimedia affair.
Why aren’t they defending the publication’s anti-Semitic writings as “free speech?”