Who is Vittorio Sergi, the Flotilla teacher stopped by Israel
There is growing apprehension in the Marche region for the three activists arrested by the Israeli Navy. Among them, there is also a teacher from a high school in Ancona. His colleagues have started a collection of signatures, while the student community would like to write to the Foreign Ministry
Students defending their teacher. It is happening at the Carlo Rinaldini classical high school in Ancona, where the student community has called a strike to show their solidarity with Vittorio Sergi, the teacher arrested by the Israeli Navy while on board one of the boats of the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian mission heading towards Gaza. The students' demand is only one: his immediate release.
Meanwhile, M5S MP Dario Carotenuto and Fatto Quotidiano journalist Alessandro Mantovani, who were on board one of the Flotilla ships intercepted by the Israelis, have returned to Italia. They disembarked, at Fiumicino airport, from a scheduled flight from Athens.
The arrested teacher
A degree in Literature and Philosophy from the University of Bologna with top marks. Then a doctorate and missions abroad to help the poor. Sergi is originally from Senigallia and teaches philosophy and humanities at the Ancona high school. He is also among the activists who left for Palestine. He is not the only one from the Marche region on the trip, as there are also Maurizio Menghini, also from Senigallia, and Marco Montenovi from Ancona: the three are part of the group of 30 Italians transferred, after the kidnapping, to the Israeli port of Ashdod, from where the pictures of the prisoners with their hands tied and their heads turned down were broadcast.
The students' wait
The professor has not been heard from since and apprehension is growing in the institute. The students were in contact with Sergi until moments before the arrest. Each unanswered call fuels their worst worries. Hence, the idea of the garrison. The appointment was set at the beginning of classes in front of the high school gates, where the students urged people not to enter the school grounds. Student committee president Teodoro Palpacelli acted as spokesman for the student community, speaking of the teacher as 'an example for everyone'.
But it's not just the younger generation. Also participating in the strike was the mother of two of Sergi's students, who commented to reporters' microphones that 'what Israel is doing to the Flotilla, which is carrying out a peaceful action, is completely illegal. Protest moments like this are very important'. The garrison lasted about two hours. Then the protesters moved to the Citadel Park for a public assembly.
