A Progressive workers’ union within Italy’s state broadcaster, RAI, recently signed a petition denouncing three RAI journalists as “propagandists of occupation” by Israel, in a move that Jewish community representatives this week said was reminiscent of Fascist practices.
The union, USB–RAI, joined a petition by Palestine Action Italia, which targets RAI Press Office director Incoronata Boccia, Jerusalem correspondent Giovan Battista Brunori and host Antonino Monteleone.
“Enough with propaganda paid for by our taxes! We have the right to public information that does not convey occupation propaganda,” read the petition, which more than 2,000 people have signed.
The president of the Jewish Community of Milan, Walker Meghnagi, condemned the petition and called it “a veritable blacklist that evokes dark periods in our country’s history.”
The petition, and USB-RAI’s support of it, also prompted condemnations from senior politicians.
Senator Maurizio Gasparri, a former journalist and member of the RAI Oversight Commission, said it was “absurd and unacceptable,” the news site Giornalisti Italia reported earlier this week. He expressed solidarity with the targeted journalists “who carry out their work with sacrifice, professionalism, and dedication.”
Maurizio Lupi, a senior lawmaker in the lower house of Italy’s parliament, condemned the petition. “The personal targeting of journalists or the launch of campaigns against them is not acceptable,” Giornalisti Italia quoted him as saying.
The action by USB-RAI, a relatively new and small union that called for RAI to boycott the Eurovision Song Festival this year over Israel’s participation, is linked an earlier controversy concerning RAI’s reporting about Israel.
Last month, anti-Israel activists posted a caricature that was widely considered to be antisemitic on an online platform operated by Radio 1, the primary state-owned public radio channel operated by RAI. It depicted an ominously grinning canine or other predatory mammal with sharp teeth, sidelocks and a kippah. It was titled: “The excurZionist.”
"Escursionisti" anziché coloni, vignetta satirica rappresenta giornalista Brunori come topo rabbioso con kippah: "l'escurSIONISTA" https://t.co/dum7sIbVYs
— Il Giornale d'Italia (@Giornaleditalia) August 11, 2026
This was a wordplay that apparently referred to Battista Brunori’s reference to an Israeli killed by a Palestinian terrorist last month during a group excursion by Israelis in Samaria. Anti-Israel activists objected to the victim’s description as a hiker, arguing he should be identified as a “settler” or “colonist.” RAI condemned the caricature, which appeared briefly on the radio channel’s online message board.
“This is not an isolated case: In recent weeks, several RAI programs and news programs, including RAI3 journalist Antonino Monteleone, have been criticized for the shameful and distorted way in which they report on the ongoing genocide,” read the petition signed by RAI-USB against the three journalists.
Nicolae Eitan Galea, president of the Israel Observatory, a pro-Israel nonprofit, said in a statement: “After the shameful, antisemitic cartoon against Brunori, it is no longer possible to dismiss these incidents as simple manifestations of dissent. The new antisemitism also involves targeting individuals, professionals and journalists with the label ‘Zionist.’”
