Why Finnish advocate for Israel is urging his government to do the same

The following is an interview with Finnish author, Risto Huvila, who wrote, “The Miracle of Israel and President Truman.” 

A great advocate for Israel, he also serves as chairman of the Federation of Finland-Israel Association, vice-chair of the Finnish Holocaust Remembrance Association and secretary of the Working Group Against Antisemitism in Finland’s Parliament.

Cookie Schwaeber-Issan: I’m speaking today to Risto Huvila, a man who I met on my first trip to Finland in 2014. He’s an exceptionally gifted pianist and composer but has so many other talents and uses them to be an articulate spokesperson for Israel and a voice for justice and godly principles.  

So, Risto, could you just briefly introduce yourself and tell us your different roles and involvements. Also, in a few words, how you, as a Finnish citizen, became interested in Israel.

Risto Huvila: Thank you, Cookie for this interview. It was a sort of spiritual encounter with God in 2005 which started my interest in Israel. It was then that I began to read the bible with an Israeli lens and to understand what was written about Israel and the Jewish people. Little by little, it developed into a desire to know more, from a historical perspective, as well as the political developments that were responsible for the establishment of Israel. One of the key events happened during a business trip to Kansas City and had an opportunity to visit the Presidential Museum and Library of Harry S. Truman. That was a life-changing moment which formed my relationship with Israel and many friends there.

Schwaeber-Issan: So, you’ve done some writing on Truman, I understand.

Huvila: Yes. I began to give lectures about Truman’s role concerning the establishment and founding of the State of Israel, I discovered that the editor of the Finnish Readers’ Digest had been in the audience and heard my presentation. He suggested I write an article about Truman. A year or two later, I was approached by a representative of a major Christian publication after he saw my article. He asked me to write a book about Truman. I agreed, and the book was finally published in Finnish and then English in 2018. 

Schwaeber-Issan: What are the different things with which you’re involved?

Huvila: I am a businessman and consultant, but since 20I8, I’ve been Chairman of the Federation of the Finland-Israel Association, Vice-Chair of the Finnish Holocaust Remembrance Association, and two years ago, I became Secretary of the working group against antisemitism Finland’s Parliament.

Schwaeber-Issan: So, it sounds as if you’ve made some great contacts in high places.

Huvila: Yes. These positions are all connected to political figures or diplomats. Over the past few years, doors have been opened. Interestingly, those in high places are much more supportive of Israel than what is shown by them publicly.  

Schwaeber-Issan: I know you’ve written a lot about Israel, and some of those articles have even been published here in Israel in different places such as the Jerusalem Post and Times of Israel. So, as a Finnish citizen, how do you feel about your own leaders who don’t support Israel?

Huvila: There are leaders who support Israel and those who don’t. Our foreign policy has been led by leftist ministers for a long time, and so it’s been Palestinian leaning and, in many cases, anti-Israel. I recently looked at the database of the UN General Assembly to see how different countries voted, when relating to Israel, and of the 138 votes, since 2015, Finland voted against Israel in more than 80% of those resolutions. The other 18%, Finland abstained. I’m really ashamed, as a Finn, to say that Finland has never voted in favor of Israel in these resolutions. I’ve asked politicians, as well as people in the foreign ministry, about these resolutions and their response has been that they are simply voting alongside our Western European partners. Of course, there are always Western European partners who are anti-Israel, but there have also been those who are pro-Israel among the EU members, so I think that the position of the Finnish government has been biased, similar to many other nations of the world. 

Schwaeber-Issan: It sounds as if what you’re describing is that they’re going with the flow and not independently thinking how they feel.

Huvila: Yes, I remember I had the opportunity and the honor of hosting the 17th anniversary of the Finnish-Israeli Diplomatic Relations in 2020, and there were ambassadors and people from the top of the foreign ministry as well as other dignitaries. In their speeches, they all said that Finland and Israel had excellent relations, and how wonderful it was to work together in the area of innovation and other things. When I gave the concluding remarks, I said that it was nice to hear how great the relations are but if we look at Finland’s voting record, as it relates to Israel in the UN, it looks very different. So, it’s hard to understand, because there are two faces within the government and the politicians. In the UN, they are very different from their private discussions or events like these.

Schwaeber-Issan: So, overall, how do you think the Finnish population feels about Israel? Do they align with the government or would you say that they are more overwhelmingly pro-Israel? I just saw, for example, a video clip of a demonstration yesterday that was pro-Israel. I was very gratified to see that, because it meant to me that some people actually weathered the freezing temperatures to stand with Israel, so I found that encouraging, but how would you characterize the majority of Finnish citizens?

Huvila: It’s hard to say, because there haven’t been any polls or anything to indicate the opinions of the general public, but I would say that, in general, they are not paying much attention to the situation and are not very interested. Also, it’s important to remember that the mainstream media is highly anti-Israel, and it’s planted a very negative seed amongst the public over the last two to three decades. So that’s been responsible for a very biased and one-sided picture of Israel. There was a pro-Palestinian/pro-Hamas demonstration, just a couple of days ago, and about 1,000 people attended. Those rallies gather more people than the pro-Israel ones, but the majority, or at least many of those marching are immigrants. They are very vocal, and that’s what we’ve been seeing here.

Schwaeber-Issan: I believe that Finland is an overwhelmingly Christian country and generally speaking, Christians would not be pro-Hamas or pro-Palestinian, right?

Huvila: When it comes to official membership, that is true. The majority of Finns belong to the Lutheran church, but it doesn’t mean they actively attend.

Schwaeber-Issan: So, you would think that there would be more Israel support, because even if Christians are unobservant, and only registered with the church, they’re not in favor of terrorism, and taking a pro-Palestinian/Hamas stand means that you’re in favor of the terrorists. 

Huvila: If we look at the top level of the Lutheran church – amongst the approximately ten bishops, including the archbishop, there are more who have come out publicly as being pro-Palestinian and very much anti-Israel. Unfortunately, we only have one bishop in Helsinki who is openly pro-Israel, and the sad thing is that these bishops have no biblical facts concerning Israel. Their position is only political. We see this in the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation, both highly anti-Israel.

Schwaeber-Issan: Wow, that’s amazing, because a central scripture is Gen. 12:3, “I will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel,” so you kind of wonder what they’re thinking as “religious people” and how they justify their position. But since you wrote a book on Truman and are obviously interested in politics, what do you think about the Biden administration which started out as very supportive, defending Israel’s right to defend themselves. It was unequivocal in the beginning, and then shortly after, they began to waver, which I think was a political consideration, because much of their base is anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian, so they began to shift very quickly to a position of, “we want you to slow down.” Blinken recently made a suggestion that Israel should give up land in exchange for Hezbollah leaving Israel’s northern border. How do you feel about that? 

Huvila: First of all, I was very surprised about Biden’s approach, standing for Israel and I think that recent developments very much are connected to the presidential campaign. The Democrats are very divided as there is a pro-Israel and a pro-Palestinian lobby, and I think the strategists behind Biden are advising him to take a more neutral stand on these issues. So, I think that is behind the changed attitude in the White House. I’ve been diligently watching all his press conferences, whether in the White House or Israel, and it’s been overwhelmingly supportive and that he’s trying to find a balance even against his feelings, due to the political reality of the Democratic party, but you as an expat American may know better.

Schwaeber-Issan: I think the issue is pretty obvious. He’s got an upcoming election and he does have to do a balancing act, because if he comes out against Israel, he loses the Jewish vote, as well as any other pro-Israel voters, but if he comes out pro-Israel, some of his constituency has already threatened not to vote for him, so it’s a tough act for him. I’ve always been a firm believer in acting according to your conscience, but, politically speaking, that’s not easy, because you want to win and the problem is how far you’re willing to compromise to win. But as long as we’re on the subject you, of course, know what’s going on in the Hague with this whole sham genocide accusation but, nonetheless, one which Israel felt they had to defend. What are your thoughts about that?

Huvila: I watched some of the proceedings and read a number of reports. From the South African side, in their opening speeches, I read that there was no reference to the Hamas attack. A friend of mine wrote an article which said that everything started when Israel hit back, so there was no news or reference related to Hamas, but when Israel began to defend themselves, that’s when everything started. The Hague seems to be just another biased campaign against Israel, funded by many anti-Israel governments and organizations. I feel so sorry for many African countries, including Yemen, where people are suffering because of their governments. Those governments are using a huge part of their financial resources to attack Israel, and that’s really sad. The International Court of Justice is part of the UN structure, and it’s sad to say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of the proceedings there would be an anti-Israel resolution.

Schwaeber-Issan: I had an opportunity yesterday to listen to Tal Becker who opened the proceedings, and he also said that there was no context of how everything started – no mention of the atrocities or the massacre, all deliberately left out, so I think you’re quite right about that. Have you had a chance to write anything about Israel’s right to defend themselves?

Huvila: I have been writing a lot. I have a blog with the largest blog site in Finland, and, since October 7, I have written ten lengthy articles related to Israel and the attack. Finland is a country with 5.5 million people, and my readership has reached 100,000 at the most. The average readership of these articles has been almost 40,000 readers, so it’s been a surprise to me to see how people are interested in what’s going on in Israel and Gaza. While all the people who are reading and commenting are not pro-Israel, I’ve been challenging the narrative which the Finnish media has been presenting, even challenging some of the journalists, by name, and quoting their interviews line by line, so it’s been effective and well read.

Schwaeber-Issan: Well, that’s a lot of views, so it must be effective. It sounds as if you’re saying Finns may not be particularly interested in Israel enough to protest or take a stand, but when it comes to reading about it, you actually see a larger interest. Is that fair to say?

Huvila: I think it is. After the attack, we began to organize many demonstrations. On October 8, the next day, we started a chain of candlelight vigils, in front of the Israeli Embassy in Helsinki, and we have had a number of large demonstrations. On November 29, the anniversary of UN Resolution 181 on partition of Palestine, we organized simultaneous demonstrations around Finland in 25 different locations, attended by thousands. So, there has been much support. On January 25, I will begin a weekly half-hour tv program called, “The Israel Studio,” which will be aired every Thursday at 8 p.m. on IRR tv, a Christian channel. That will keep me busy until mid-summer.

Schwaeber-Issan: Wrapping up, I’d like to get you to pretend that you are at the Hague, at the podium in front of the judges, and that you’re making your case for Israel, as the world watches. What would be your most passionate argument to support and take a stand for Israel?

Huvila: I don’t know if I've anything to add to the lawyers who have already spoken so well on Israel’s behalf. It was surprising how calm and cool-headed they were as they presented their case, using all the facts. I really admired their style as they rebutted the South African lawyers’ accusations. If I was defending Israel in a live broadcast, I would address the large numbers of casualties which journalists are quoting. I would say, “How do you know how many casualties there are? Have you seen any mass graves or funerals? No! There hasn’t been any such footage. Who is providing the numbers in Gaza? The health ministry which is part of Hamas.” So, I think there are many facts that need to be challenged by the media.

Another thing I want to address was the letter of junior officials within Finland’s foreign affairs. Finland abstained in the first UN General Assembly vote at the end of October, and there was a resolution that was accepted by 130 countries. Finland, along with 40 other nations, abstained. Both the media and the Parliament’s leftists garnered a lot of criticism as to why Finland did not vote against terrorism and violence. That abstention received a lot of internal criticism from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in November, and, just last week, it was made public when 79 junior officials (no ambassadors or senior officials among them) sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, criticizing Finland’s stand on that issue. Sad to say that in late November, Finland voted, together with the majority against Israel, so the abstention was a one-time thing. I was expecting much better of Finland, who, since last summer, voted in a right-wing government. 

Schwaeber-Issan: Do you think that will impact Israel in any particular way?

Huvila: As a bible-believing Christian, I believe there are always consequences. We have a 1,342 km- border with Russia, and last April, we joined NATO. Russia has sent many asylum seekers to Finland, so this situation is challenging. Our government has closed the border with Russia, so that nothing can come in or out. Let’s see what will happen. 

Schwaeber-Issan: I want to thank you again, as a Finnish Christian for sharing your thoughts about what’s going on in Israel as well as your own personal interest and passion to support Israel. It’s very encouraging to Israelis to hear about non-Jewish people who take a stand for Israel, even if their governments don’t, because it takes courage to do that. Please keep writing and being an advocate for Israel.

Huvila: Thanks, Cookie. It was a pleasure talking with you. God bless the people of Israel and the State of Israel.