Swiss Broadcaster Pulls Olympic Commentary Questioning Israeli Bobsledder's Participation

Swiss Broadcaster Pulls Olympic Commentary Questioning Israeli Bobsledder's Participation

The two-man bobsled was hurtling down the Cortina Sliding Centre track on Monday afternoon when viewers tuning in to Radio Télévision Suisse heard something unusual. Instead of calling splits and cornering technique, commentator Stefan Renna spent the entirety of Israel's run cataloguing pilot A.J. Edelman's social media activity — posts the journalist characterized as expressions of support for what he called the "genocide in Gaza" Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast..

By Tuesday morning the clip had been viewed millions of times, RTS had scrubbed it from its website, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel had accused Renna of anti-Semitism, and the International Olympic Committee was fielding questions about why its rules on athletes and war appear to apply selectively Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday.. The episode has become one of the sharpest flashpoints yet in the broader collision between Middle Eastern geopolitics and the Olympic movement's stated commitment to political neutrality.

Renna's remarks were not off-the-cuff. According to Deadline, they appeared to be pre-prepared and lasted for the duration of Israel's entire bobsled run . The commentator quoted Edelman as calling the Gaza conflict "the most morally just" war in history, noted that the athlete had mocked a "Free Palestine" demonstration spotted at a World Cup race, and described Edelman as "a Zionist to the core" — a phrase the bobsledder has used about himself on social media Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast..

The crux of Renna's argument was a claim of inconsistent enforcement. He pointed to the IOC's treatment of Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was banned from competition after wearing a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes killed in the war with Russia. If expressing support for a nation at war disqualifies one athlete, Renna argued, the same standard should apply to Edelman's vocal backing of Israeli military operations Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast.. The comparison drew instant attention because Heraskevych himself has publicly accused the IOC of applying different standards to different conflicts, citing Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone's announcement that he would wear a kippah inscribed with the names of Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Games to the opening ceremony Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday..

RTS removed the segment within hours. In a statement provided to both Reuters and Al Jazeera, the broadcaster said its journalist "wanted to question the IOC's policy regarding the statements made by the athlete concerned" but acknowledged that "such information, while factual, is inappropriate for sports commentary due to its length" Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast.. The wording was careful — RTS did not retract any factual claim but framed the issue as one of format rather than substance.

Edelman, a Massachusetts-born dual American-Israeli citizen competing in his first Olympics, responded on X (formerly Twitter) without disputing the claims Renna attributed to him. He described the commentary as a "diatribe" and framed his team's presence in Cortina as an underdog story. "Shul Runnings is a team of six proud Israelis who've made it to the Olympic stage," he wrote. "No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent" Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast.. The team, which Edelman has nicknamed a play on the 1993 Jamaican bobsled film Cool Runnings, finished last among 26 teams in the two-man event.

The reaction from Israeli and American political figures was swift and forceful. Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, reposted the clip and called it evidence of "Jew-hating," accusing Renna of spewing "bigotry and bile" Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast.. The StopAntisemitism organization, a prominent pro-Israel advocacy group in the United States, called for Renna's dismissal Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday.. On the other side, the commentary was widely praised on social media by Palestinian solidarity activists and sports fans who lauded Renna for using his platform to raise questions about Israeli athletes' participation while the Gaza conflict continues.

The IOC's response was notably restrained. Spokesman Mark Adams told reporters Tuesday that he would "remind everyone involved, however tangentially, in the Olympic Games, of the values and the charter and the idea of us trying to bring people together despite what's happening in the rest of the world" Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday.. But he declined to comment on Renna's specific remarks, saying that was "a matter to refer to the broadcaster." The IOC has consistently resisted calls to ban Israel from the Games, with a spokesperson stating before the Milan-Cortina Games that the Israel-Palestine situation was "not comparable" to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — the justification used for Russian and Belarusian bans Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday..

That distinction is precisely what critics contest. The IOC's eligibility rules regarding athletes who actively support military conflicts were drafted specifically for the Russia-Ukraine context and apply only to athletes from those two countries competing as neutrals Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday.. There is no equivalent framework for assessing whether athletes from other nations engaged in armed conflicts should face scrutiny for their public statements. The gap leaves the IOC vulnerable to accusations of inconsistency — a vulnerability Renna's commentary exploited with surgical precision.

The incident does not exist in isolation. Earlier in the Milan-Cortina Games, an argument between Israeli fans and an employee at the official merchandise store in the Cortina Sliding Centre was filmed after the worker displayed a "Free Palestine" message, adding to a pattern of confrontations that have dogged Israel's Olympic participation since the Gaza conflict intensified in late 2023 Swiss commentator slams ‘Zionist’ Israeli bobsleigh team at Winter Olympicsaljazeera.com·SecondaryA Swiss sports journalist has found himself at the centre of a storm for his no-holds-barred commentary during the Israeli team’s participation in the bobsleigh event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Sports commentator Stefan Reina, of Radio Television Suisse (RTS), called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run at the Milano Cortina Games on Monday.. Edelman himself told The Jewish Chronicle earlier this month that rival bobsledders had called his team "baby killers" during competition Winter Olympics: Swiss TV Network Removes Viral Commentary Calling Out Israeli Bobsled Athlete For His “Support Of Genocide In Gaza”deadline.com·SecondaryEXCLUSIVE: A Swiss television network has taken down from its website a viral Winter Olympics clip in which a commentator calls out an Israeli athlete for his “support of the genocide in Gaza.” In correspondence with Deadline, a Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) spokesperson verified the footage — which has been viewed millions of times on social media — and said it had been removed because it was not “appropriate” for a sports broadcast..

For Swiss broadcasting specifically, the episode raises questions about editorial oversight at a publicly funded institution. RTS is part of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), which operates under a federal mandate that includes impartiality requirements. Whether Renna's commentary constituted legitimate journalistic questioning of IOC policy or crossed into political advocacy during a sports broadcast is likely to be debated within Swiss media circles for some time. The broadcaster's decision to remove the segment rather than defend it suggests internal discomfort with where that line was drawn.

The broader question the incident surfaces — whether the Olympic movement can maintain its claim to political neutrality while applying its own rules unevenly — is unlikely to fade as the Milan-Cortina Games continue. With Russian and Belarusian flags set to return at the 2026 Paralympics later this year, and calls for Israeli exclusion growing louder from activist groups, the IOC faces a web of competing pressures that no amount of charter-quoting can easily untangle.