A Jewish member of parliament from Finland was attacked in the Helsinki subway station this week. He was severely attacked with punches in the face while hurling anti-Semitic insults. According to the Finnish police, the attacker was caught that day, although his identity has not been released
Ben Berel Ziskowicz, a 68-year-old member of Finland’s conservative-leaning National Coalition Party, was severely attacked this week at the subway station. In addition to making anti-Semitic comments, the attacker accused him of Finland’s recent attempts to join NATO, and punched him in the face.
President Sauli Niinisto Tweet on Twitter Because the physical attack on the veteran conservative politician Ben Ziskowicz, 68, was a “cowardly act” that dealt a blow to Finnish democracy. Ziskowicz told Finnish media that “a large man who appeared to be in his 30s to 40s confronted him at a metro station in Helsinki, the capital city he represents,” the Associated Press reported.
Ziskowicz told Finnish media that a large man who appeared to be between the ages of 30 and 40 confronted him at a metro station in Helsinki, the capital city he represents.
Member of Parliament Ben Barel Zyskovich
Ziskowicz, the son of a Polish Holocaust survivor, added that he was not moved but felt that the attack had a serious meaning for democracy in Finland. “Physical attack by candidates must under no circumstances become a part of Finnish society, even as a completely marginal phenomenon,” Ziskowicz told the Finnish media. Ziskowicz told the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the perpetrator also threatened to kill him and push him onto the subway tracks.
President Sauli Niinisto called the attack “an offense against the power of the people”. as per Finnish police, The attacker was caught that day, although his identity has not been released.
Fewer than 2,000 Jews live in Finland, according to the World Jewish Congress, in 2021, Helsinki’s Jewish community reported spending nearly half a million euros a year on security. Last year, the European Union’s anti-Semitism commissioner criticized Finland for not having a formal framework to deal with anti-Semitic crimes in the country.
Finland has taken a neutral position towards Russia, a country with which it shares a border. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February reignited the debate in the Scandinavian country about NATO membership. Ziskowicz’s National Coalition Party has been advocating NATO membership for decades.
Political violence is extremely rare in Finland. A country of 5.5 million inhabitants where legislators and government ministers regularly walk around cafes, markets and shopping centers without guards even on public transport.