https://www.reddit.com/r/Israel/comments/1ig0kje/israel_and_finland_could_ally_together/
created by Diskreetti on 02/02/2025 at 16:10 UTC*
370 upvotes, 21 top-level comments (showing 21)
Hello! I’m from Finland and I have been thinking that we have very good relations between Israel and Finland and we could take a step ahead and form a strong alliance between our nations.
Israel and Finland are already very close partners in the military sector. The latest big event in this area were when Finland made a deal with Israel of purchasing David’s Sling air-defence system[1].
A few years before that deal Finland aquired a surface-to-surface missile system[2] from Israel and Finland is also using Israeli antitank missiles[3].
3: https://maavoimat.fi/en/-/new-missiles-to-complement-the-anti-tank-capability-of-the-army
Trade is also conducted in the other direction. Israel is using Finnish techonology for detecting drones. Israel bought the Anti-Drone system made by Finnish company Sensofusion[4] to protect the office of **Benjamin Netanyahu**.
In the website of Sensofusion it is mentioned that Israeli border police has also used the technology. Here is a quote from the Israel border police on the Sensofusion's website:
“We’ve managed to intercept and prevent over 70+ drone attacks on the Israeli border. Remarkable is that we’ve also detained pilots and thus prevented consequent attacks.” (Source: https://sensofusion.com/anti-drone/[5])
5: https://sensofusion.com/anti-drone/
IDF and Finnish Defence Forces has close ties. On July 2023 the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the IDF, Major General **Amir Baram** visited in Finland. He said about the visit that ”Considering our similarities and close ties, we have a lot to learn from each other and I am so glad we were able to continue doing so in this visit.” (Source: https://maavoimat.fi/en/-/1948673/deputy-chief-of-the-general-staff-of-the-israel-defense-forces-visited-finland[6])
And on September 2024 Chief of the Defence Command in Finland, Lieutenant General **Vesa Virtanen** visited in Israel and discussed of bilateral cooperation between IDF and Finnish Defence Forces. The visit was hosted by the IDF Major General **Amir Baram** who said that ”We will continue to work together to deepen our relationship, led by a commitment to strengthen regional stability, cooperation and coordination between the militaries.” (Source: https://puolustusvoimat.fi/en/-/the-chief-of-the-defence-command-visited-israel[7])
7: https://puolustusvoimat.fi/en/-/the-chief-of-the-defence-command-visited-israel
As these visits and deals tells us our nations indeed have very close ties even those ties might not be very widely presented in media. But I want these ties to be more public and I really think that we should take more steps and make our cooperation even closer and deeper.
The ties between our nations are not only formed in the official level but there is also quite large support of Israel among ordinary Finnish people. These couple of news articles tell something about it:
https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/from-the-finnish-press/3072-many-finns-travel-voluntarily-to-israel-to-aid-its-military-forces.html[8][9]
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3903547,00.html[10][11]
10: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3903547,00.html
11: https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3903547,00.html
What steps can we take to deepen cooperation between Israel and Finland? One thing is that we could talk about these ties and tell people what kind of things has already been done and promote the importance of such strong friendship between our small nations. We also could share ideas and invent new forms of cooperation. Not only in the military area but also in other areas and industries. And I would really like to see a strong alliance between Finland and Israel in the future.
Comment by AutoModerator at 02/02/2025 at 16:10 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
1: /message/compose/?to=/r/Israel
Comment by Lightning_Bee at 02/02/2025 at 16:25 UTC
125 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Our flags also share colors!!
Comment by adamgerd at 02/02/2025 at 16:44 UTC
80 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Based, more European Israeli cooperation is great to see and Finland, well you guys managed to defend against Stalin
Comment by sausyboat at 02/02/2025 at 16:36 UTC
94 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I am heartened to hear about Finnish support of Israel, as I was under the impression that the majority of the population of all the Scandinavian countries were pro-Pali.
Comment by PUBLIC-STATIC-V0ID at 02/02/2025 at 16:20 UTC
42 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Kiitos veli,
I actually also recommend visiting Finland. I was there last year summer and was pleasantly surprised on how nice it was. It’s clean, well organised and people are incredibly friendly
Comment by Normal_Guy97 at 02/02/2025 at 17:11 UTC
37 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm half Israeli and half European and I welcome everyone of my European brothers and sisters who support the Jewish people, it's incredibly important that we show our politicians that we stand with Israel.
Unfortunately, Finland seems to be a bit schizophrenic when it comes to their relation with Israel. As you rightly point out, the Finnish have been relying on Israeli arms technology and don't seem to want to quit buying arms from Israel. This is probably because of the Russian threat looming in the east. However, when Israel started its ground offensive in southern Lebanon the Finnish government was one of the harshest opponents of the IDF after some UN peacekeepers were caught in the crossfire with Hezbollah.
I can promise you that Israel is willing to ally any democracy in the world and is even willing to trade and cooperate with semi-free countries like Egypt or Saudi Arabia. But I truly hope that the Finnish government will also see Israel as a true ally, not just a country they can buy militairy arms from and criticize for military actions a few months later. It's up to your government and the voice of your people in your elections to make such a mutually beneficial alliance happen, the Israelis are already waiting with open arms for anyone to embrace them.
Comment by HelpfulRaisin6011 at 02/02/2025 at 20:58 UTC
11 upvotes, 1 direct replies
As an American, I guess I do kind of think of Finland and Israel and Ukraine and South Korea and Taiwan as a set of similar countries. All are some pretty bad neighborhoods, with the worst countries seeking their demise. All are nations of warriors.
I know the name Simo Häyhä, aka the White Death. There is no greater honor than to be a sniper who killed 500 communists in the dead of night with no scope, no binoculars, just the naked eye. I heard that in WWII, . You invented the Molotov cocktail, and named it as a way to mock the Russian imperialists. Epic.
I met an old Yemeni Rabbi on a Kibbutz once. His entire unit was killed in 1973 and he had to fight his way back home. Apparently, between 1967 and 1973, the old man had over 950 confirmed kills on the enemy. What a legend, haha. Never got his name but that Rabbi has done more good deeds than most of us ever will... I hear in Ukraine, they have entire companies of disabled veterans. Like, soldiers get hurt, they go to the hospital, they recover, and then they volunteer to go back to the war... That is the warrior spirit. That is true bravery and strength of character.
Now my understanding is that when there's a war in the desert, the IDF is the best of the best. And when there's a war in the arctic, the Finns will ski into battle, destroy the enemy in a minute, and ski back home to the sauna. When the sand starts speaking Hebrew or the snow starts speaking Finnish, that's when you know you're fucked. I think Estonia should also really be integrated into the alliance. Estonia are masters of everything cyber-related. In peacetime, I could see this leading to an explosion of techno-capitalism. Like Tel Aviv is the city of tech start-ups. Its the equivalent of San Francisco in America-- both in terms of having a tech economy, and in terms of being full of woke queers lmfao. Anyway, pair Tel Aviv's tech workers and entrepeneural spirit with Estonia's tech-focused economy and low taxes? That's a partnership to end all partnerships.
Then, you get Estonia, Finland, and Israel to work together on cyber-defense, hybrid warfare, and countering the axis of evil? Yeah chef's kiss. Its an unstoppable alliance. Heck throw Taiwan and South Korea in there too. My phone is made by a Korean company and all those semiconductors are made in Taiwan. A few small Asian and Eastern European countries could become an OPEC-level cartel (but for computers, which are even more valuable than oil) if they banded together. If I could say one thing to the Taiwanese, it would be this: "start enriching Uranium. Have submarines with payloads in the water before 2027. Aim the payloads at Beijing and Hong Kong and Shanghai, then tell Xi to FAFO." I kind of think the same thing for Finland. If Putin ever takes Kyiv, he ain't stopping. The Baltics, Finland, and Poland will be next. Ukraine's survival is holding back the NATO-Russia War. I'd say that if Finland, Estonia, Poland, Taiwan, South Korea, and other democracies at high risk manage to create the ultimate deterrence, then we might prevent WWIII.
Comment by Paulino2272 at 02/02/2025 at 19:54 UTC
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
🇺🇸❤️🇮🇱❤️🇫🇮
Comment by No_Discussion6913 at 02/02/2025 at 16:37 UTC
22 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Given Finland's recent NATO membership and Israel's evolving security landscape, how do you see their defense cooperation evolving in the next decade? Could this partnership extend beyond military ties into areas like cybersecurity, energy, or artificial intelligence?"
Comment by StrikeEagle784 at 02/02/2025 at 17:25 UTC
15 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Finland’s based, they make a great ally of any free world nation. As long as Finland doesn’t vote against Israel in the UN and supports Israel’s right to exist and defend itself against genocidal maniacs than they’ll have Israel’s support.
Comment by [deleted] at 02/02/2025 at 16:38 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
[deleted]
Comment by human-redditbot at 02/02/2025 at 17:55 UTC
12 upvotes, 0 direct replies
A full Alliance, in the traditional sense, is highly unlikely, yet greater cooperation in various areas, would be great.
Finland and Israel share many similar values, for example, democratic principles, religious tolerance, freedom of speech, respect for minorities etc.
Not to mention, both countries possess competent and effective militaries. Militaries, which are especially vital to each country, respectively, as they both suffer from "neighbourhood hostility" from time to time...
Both Israel and Finland, have a thriving tech industry, as well as a respectable education system, including expertise in academic research.
Thus, I can foresee greater collaboration, in such areas as cyber security, drone warfare, military intelligence, air defences, as well as other non-military areas of tech and academic research.
Just my two cents, and hopefully, collaboration and friendship can blossom! 🇮🇱🤝🇫🇮
Comment by Ok-Construction-7740 at 03/02/2025 at 05:57 UTC
6 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I have a lot of friends for finland they are cool Plus, another fact is the first Olympics Isreal participated In is the one in helsinki
Comment by TacticalSniper at 03/02/2025 at 06:02 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I can see one big hurdle. Finns like their space, while the Israelis... are the opposite :D
Comment by DiscipleOfYeshua at 03/02/2025 at 08:58 UTC
4 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Israel and Finland have and do ally together. Any idea where Nokia antennas were made?
Comment by SoulForTrade at 03/02/2025 at 00:14 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I can't speak to those aspects, but I always wanted to take my old Nokia phone to visit it's roots in Finland, spend some time jn a Sauna, see the northern lights, and rock out in a Nightwish concert.
Comment by IllustriousCaramel66 at 03/02/2025 at 11:47 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The most important thing is that Israel is one of the biggest Wolt markets, and Wolt is squeezing as much as possible from us… make Wolt cheaper and we’ll automatically become closer! 😬
Comment by Royakushka at 03/02/2025 at 11:51 UTC*
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I appreciate the offer, but I do not allie with people whose language looks like every word is a chemical name I studied in my Biotechnology degree.
Naa I'm just joking. You guys are all right
I loved reading about the incredible fighting you guys did in the Winter War, the incredible comradery in the Finnish military, and the Sisu culture. Also, Simo Hayha's story was incredible to read as well.
Comment by Sleepyknot at 02/02/2025 at 18:17 UTC
7 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I love fins! i've spoken to quite a few in the past.
did you know theres a Finland (and also Sweden) street in Haifa?
Comment by Academic-Research at 02/02/2025 at 19:24 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
🇫🇮❤️🇮🇱❤️
Comment by [deleted] at 02/02/2025 at 16:55 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
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