nevermind

[heartsareme]

nevermind, I didn't mean anything...

[AldenG]

No.

Not for the reasons you describe.

[rinso]

great grandmother

Those stories are 50 - 75 years old. Things have changed.
Finland still might be your land of dreams but you should come and see for yourself.
(come in November/early winter when it is dark and cold )

[Logic]

but everyone else in my family is jewish

I don't understand the reason why you would tell us the religion of your family

[tuulen]

great grandmother

Those stories are 50 - 75 years old. Things have changed.

Yes, things have changed, a lot! When my wife was a baby, she and her parents moved to USA from Finland in the early 1950s, and so I learned about Finland of the 1940s and earlier. But today Finland is VERY different.

[Oho]

but everyone else in my family is jewish

I don't understand the reason why you would tell us the religion of your family

Really, well I do, she is a jew and antisemitism is the left wing sanctioned form of racism en vogue all over Europe, much more so than islamofobia.

[Karhunkoski]

antisemitism is the left wing sanctioned form of racism en vogue all over Europe

Sadly you're correct.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOgV6Fvc ... ature=plcp

[AldenG]

And the association of "left-wing" and "anti-Semitic" is usually a surprise to Americans.

It took me quite by surprise in Sweden. However, I never noticed anti-Semitism in Finland, hardly even any opinions about Israel. Maybe that's only because I'm not Jewish but I just don't think it's an issue there.

My "no" is based on the difficulty of assimilating or of thriving by any other means in Finland. It's a much bigger step than other Western European countries and probably even some eastern ones as well. A majority of people who try it just can't hack the language, even many who previously thought they were good at languages (because they'd never ventured outside the Indo-European group). It's doable and for some it's rewarding, but you need a lot more incentive than "my grandmother told cool stories about it."

It's a great place if you're compatible and you're there for the right reasons with the right support network to get started. But even the chances of a random young American finding meaning employment are minimal-to-nil. Just go for a nice summer vacation some time and leave with the positive memories. But it won't be cheap.

[AldenG]

By the way, I always cringe at the term "anti-Semitic," particularly in today's polarized political climate. Although it's mainly used with intent to refer to anti-Jewish sentiment, Arabs of all religions are ethnically and linguistically just as semitic as Jews.

[Logic]

My point was Judaism is a religion not a nationality.

[Karhunkoski]

By the way, I always cringe at the term "anti-Semitic," particularly in today's polarized political climate. Although it's mainly used with intent to refer to anti-Jewish sentiment, Arabs of all religions are ethnically and linguistically just as semitic as Jews.

I don't see why you should cringe at the terms, "anti-Semitic", at least for the reason you gave....? Yes the term "Semitic" covers more than just "Jews". But I have never heard the term "anti-Semitic" used towards anyone but Jews, have you?

(And don't come up with any obscure example... We're talking about how the term is used by 99.9999999% of people )

[heartsareme]

I wasnt even thinking of antisemitism! I was literally only romanticizing my great grandmother!

[AldenG]

But I have never heard the term "anti-Semitic" used towards anyone but Jews, have you?

No, but that's was sort of my point. Eyeroll-worthy might be a better description than cringe-worthy.

Would we describe the feelings of some Arabs toward Jews as anti-Semitic? Would they?

I wasnt even thinking of antisemitism! I was literally only romanticizing my great grandmother!

We know that.

Someone else said there was strong anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe, implying you'd face some of that if you moved to Finland. But then I said I wasn't aware of it being common in Finland as I had never seen any expression of it. Now if you moved to Sweden, you'd find some people expecting you to defend or disavow every little move that Israel makes. I myself even experienced some of that in Sweden, solely because I was an American and the US is an ally of Israel.

I don't think it would be a factor in Finland. You'd probably experience nothing but shy curiosity about Judaism.

However the language and employment and social factors would make Finland a major challenge, probably bigger than you can imagine. Without modern-day family ties it would be very difficult and probably end in going home disillusioned.

[Oho]

I wasnt even thinking of antisemitism! I was literally only romanticizing my great grandmother!

I apologize for opening this can of worms. Mea culpa.

[Oho]

Someone else said there was strong anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe, implying you'd face some of that if you moved to Finland.

That would be me but no, it was not implied certainly no intentionally. It was more like general trend in Europe and person of Jewish background should be wary of it when she makes inquires about any European country of which she knows precious little to begin with. I think I better shut up now, done plenty to make her feel uncomfortable where I just should have kept my trap shut.