Esko Seppänen: "I'm not an anti-Semite." Photo: Tundra Tabloids

Esko Seppänen, a former member of the European parliament and a leading figure in Finland’s Left Alliance party, has condemned the decision of the Helsinki City Council to sell old maritime customs barracks to the Chabad Lubavitch movement.

Seppänen claimed that Chabad has links with Israeli espionage agencies. According to Nordic blog Tundra Tabloids, Seppänen said that the that former Marine Customs property is an ideal location for “the interception of messages of the telecommunications of the Finnish State.” He added that that the “Mossad represents ‘state terrorism'” and expressed concern that the building now owned by Chabad would “in the future also be an attractive target for anti-Israeli terrorist attacks.”

Despite slamming the sale and accusing Chabad of Mossad ties without producing evidence – the mission of the organization is the promotion of Judaism and the Jewish faith – Seppänen was quick to offer the assurance that he is not “an anti-Semite.”