Finnish food‑retail group S‑ryhmä (S-Group) announced Wednesday that it is temporarily halting purchases of products of Israeli origin. The decision—approved in September by the group’s board of directors and confirmed this week by the consumer representation of the Helsinki region (by a 46 to 9 vote)—applies across all its Prisma and S‑market stores.
Nina Alomaa, S‑ryhmä’s Corporate Responsibility director, confirmed: “We have decided for the time being to stop purchasing products of Israeli origin.” She added that there is no intention to remove existing items from shelves, nor to cancel existing contracts—but no new Israeli‑origin products will be bought, and no new agreements will be signed. Among the affected product categories: fruits and vegetables (particularly dates), cosmetics, craft accessories and SodaStream appliances.
The backdrop of the decision is the war in Gaza. “We are closely monitoring the peace negotiations and the position of the European Union, and will reconsider the policy accordingly,” Alomaa said.
At the same time, there have been fierce protests for many weeks in northern Finland against a plan led by an Israeli company to build a large ski resort and luxury hotel in Lapland. The protesters are publicly supported by members of Parliament and ministers from left‑wing and Green parties.
The Finnish network’s decision comes against the backdrop of an exceptional warming of relations between Israel’s defense industries and Finnish authorities. Finland, currently at the Western frontier facing Russia, has in recent years purchased Israeli advanced air‑defense and cyber‑protection systems, including systems safeguarding its territory against Russian missiles and drones.
The Finns bought Israel’s David’s Sling system for 1.3 billion shekels. “Without the Israeli capabilities,” said an Israeli source familiar with the matter, “their relative calm at the huge border with Russia would not exist. We hope the Defense Ministry and the Israeli government do not ignore the full picture as they push for further deals with Helsinki.”