An anti-Semitic cartoon targeting the Jerusalem correspondent has appeared on Rai. Rossi: “Extremely serious”

A rabid mouse wearing a kippah and with curls, accompanied by the pun: ‘L’escurSIONISTA’. This is the cartoon that appeared today on Radio1’s noticeboard, signed by the groups ‘Global Sumud’ and ‘Libere di lottare’. The poster criticises Giovan Battista Brunori, the Jerusalem correspondent, who has been the target of criticism for several days now for describing the victims of an attack in the West Bank as “Israelis on an excursion” in a report. 

The cartoon appears to be a photograph posted on Instagram and subsequently printed on paper. “Rai expresses its strongest condemnation” of the anti-Semitic poster, reads a statement from the company’s chief executive, Giampaolo Rossi. “This is an extremely serious incident that comes at the end of days of politically motivated controversy and intimidation directed at our Jerusalem correspondent, Giovan Battista Brunori, who has been carrying out his work with professionalism and rigour for years in one of the most difficult and dangerous crisis hotspots in the world.” 

The poster in question, “which reproduces the stereotypes and imagery of the worst anti-Semitic propaganda of the past, and which was displayed inside the offices of a Rai publication,” added the CEO, “is an incident of exceptional gravity and evokes methods of intimidation and isolation directed at journalists that bring to mind the darkest chapters in our country’s history, which are incompatible with democratic debate and freedom of information”.

Rossi stated that the director of Radio1, Nicola Rao, immediately requested the intervention of the police. “The Digos carried out an on-site inspection, seizing the poster and other items relevant to the investigation. Rai has already launched an internal inquiry,” the statement continued. A similar condemnation also came from the Board of Directors at Viale Mazzini: “The display of material containing anti-Semitic content within a public service broadcaster’s premises constitutes an exceptionally serious incident, incompatible with constitutional values, with Rai’s mission and with the respect due to all those who work there,” reads a statement. Solidarity with Brunori has also been expressed by the journalists’ union Unirai Figec. “This distillation of racial hatred, which violates the Civil and Criminal Codes and undermines our Constitution,” the statement reads, “is an intolerable expression of intimidation and violence that exposes our fellow journalist – who works in dangerous war zones – to the risk of becoming a political target, with unpredictable consequences for his safety and that of his family. We regard this act as a disturbing warning sign for the safety of our colleague Brunori and therefore demand that measures to protect his safety be stepped up,” concluded Unirai Figec.

Walker Meghnagi, president of the Jewish Community of Milan, has called for “prompt action by the judiciary”, whilst the Union of Italian Jewish Communities stated that “once again, a twisted ideology is being unleashed against the media in the name of a preconceived ideological test”. Similar condemnation has also come from Fratelli d’Italia: “Leaders of the left, MPs and political groups have contributed to that campaign through public statements and attacks, fuelling a climate of hostility towards a public service journalist,” wrote Francesco Filini, MP and Meloni’s group leader on the Rai Supervisory Committee, urging those directly involved to “apologise to Giovan Battista Brunori and Rai”.