A senior member of the Italian Jewish Medical Association has called for immediate disciplinary action against two medical workers who filmed themselves discarding Israeli pharmaceutical products, saying the incident reflects a broader antisemitic climate spreading across European institutions.
Dr. Daniel Radzik revealed in an interview with Ynetnews that his organization had to send formal protest letters to Italy's Health Minister Orazio Schillaci and the local hospital before the staff members issued any apology for their controversial social media video.
Ynet interview with Dr. Daniel Radzik
(Video: Yaron Brener)
The incident involved Dr. Rita Segantini and nurse Giulia Checcacci at a community hospital in Pratovecchio Stia, near Arezzo in Tuscany, who posted footage of themselves throwing away Teva Pharmaceuticals products while in uniform at their workplace, sparking immediate backlash on social media.
Following the outcry and formal complaints from organizations like the Italian Jewish Medical Association, both medical professionals issued apologies, claiming their actions were "symbolic" and that no actual medications were destroyed.
The Southeast Tuscany Health Authority has launched an internal investigation, while lawmakers, including Deborah Bergamini of the Forza Italia party, have called for disciplinary measures.
"We were very concerned about the event," Radzik said, recalling the incident. "It's evident that this act was not accidental, but carried out with the intention of encouraging the boycott of medicines produced in Israel."
'If you remain silent, you don't obtain nothing'
Radzik emphasized the importance of the medical association's intervention, explaining that the hospital staff only apologized after receiving formal complaints. "As a Jewish Medical Association, we sent a letter of protest directly to a minister of health and to a local hospital and only afterwards they apologized," he said.
"So, if you remain silent, you don't obtain anything," Radzik added, stressing the need for immediate action against such incidents.
The Italian Jewish Medical Association member dismissed the staff's subsequent explanations as inadequate. "They tried to explain in a very naive way. Because they say that their act was only symbolic, made for peace and that the medicine was only integrator and they don't want really to throw them to the rubbish," he said.
Radzik was particularly critical of the staff's attempt to minimize their actions, noting that, regardless of their stated intentions, "medicines must not be used as tools of political or ideological dispute. They are fundamental goods essential for the treatment of citizens and must be respected as such."
Part of broader European antisemitism
When asked whether the incident reflects growing anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish sentiment, Radzik was unequivocal: "Yes, yes, surely because antisemitic atmosphere is in all fields in Europe, for example at the universities, in the schools."
He described a troubling pattern across European institutions: "Also in the historical associations, for example, they don't compare the Nazi action in the past with the Israeli action today. And so it's a very, very terrible situation."
Footage of the incident in Italy
(Video: via X)
While Radzik said he has not personally experienced direct antisemitic attacks, he remains actively engaged in combating such sentiment. "I am very engaged against the antisemitism and I denounce also in the social media, I try to reply to the offensive words many persons used."
Calling for consequences
Radzik expressed hope that Italian health authorities would take decisive action against the medical staff. "Yes, I really hope so. And we wait because we sent our letter yesterday," he said, referring to the formal complaint submitted by the Jewish Medical Association. He emphasized the broader principle at stake: "But it's important, I repeat, to react immediately, not let them do such kind of ugly things."
For Radzik and the Italian Jewish Medical Association, the incident represents more than isolated misconduct—it's part of a concerning trend that requires constant vigilance and response. "It's a very serious situation, but I think it's very important to react and not to remain silent," Radzik concluded, reflecting on both this specific case and the broader challenge of combating antisemitism in European society.
The investigation by health authorities continues, with the medical community and advocacy organizations closely monitoring whether meaningful disciplinary action will follow.