The Helsingin Sanomat's [the New York Times of Finland] cultural editor, Hannu Marttila published Matti Rossi's [pictured] oily/smarmy "tongue in cheek" response to Finnish parliamentarian Ben Zyskowicz's outrage over Rossi being awarded a cash prize by the Finnish government for his life time work in translating Shakespeare's classics into Finnish. [The state prize for literature carries with it not only the honor of the award itself, but also 15 000 Euros.]

The reason for Zyskowicz's outrage over the Finnish state's awarding of Matti Rossi with the prize, was for Rossi's role as a snitch for the Hungarian communist government back in 75'...

...This time I won't bother translating the full text, but in a tongue in cheek op-ed, he [Rossi] likens Zyskowicz to the Shakespearean character Shylock the Jew. Ben Zyskowicz happens to be Jewish himself, making the comparison undeniable.

Kirjailija William Shakespeare kuvaa dramaattisesti vastaavaa yritystä Venetsiassa 1500-luvun lopulla. / The writer William Shakespeare dramatically pictured a comparable attempt in Venice in the late 1500's. "

In the short op-ed, Matti Rossi was clearly making fun of Ben Zyskowicz, and characterizing him in a way that mirrored the story of the merchant of Venice, a Shakespearean play. It was totally irresponsible for the paper to print it, and as I said before about other examples of anti-Semitism in the Finnish media, it's becoming kind of trend here...