CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Swiss broadcaster RTS said it had removed from its website commentary on an Olympic bobsleigh race in which a journalist extensively questioned the presence of an Israeli athlete in Milano Cortina due to his alleged support for Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.

The Swiss Radio Television commentary was broadcast during one of the races of Israelis Adam Edelman and Chen Menachem in the two-man bobsleigh event on Monday.

Commentator Stefan Renna said that Edelman had supported the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza conflict and suggested that this violated the International Olympic Committee’s rules on political statements by athletes at the Games.

Swiss broadcaster RTS said it had removed from its website commentary on an Olympic bobsleigh race in which a journalist extensively questioned the presence of an Israeli athlete in Milano Cortina due to his alleged support for Israel's actions in the Gaza war.
Swiss broadcaster RTS said it had removed from its website commentary on an Olympic bobsleigh race in which a journalist extensively questioned the presence of an Israeli athlete in Milano Cortina due to his alleged support for Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.

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“Our journalist wished to question the IOC’s policy regarding statements made by the athlete in question,” RTS said in a statement to Reuters. “However, while objective, such information may have seemed inappropriate due to its length in the context of sports commentary. For this reason, we removed the segment from our website last night.”

The IOC said on Tuesday that questions about individual comments made by commentators should be directed to the broadcasters. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Renna said in his comment that Edelman defined himself as a Zionist, posted messages on social media in favor of what Renna called the “genocide” in Gaza and had mocked a “Free Palestine” inscription he had seen on a wall on the sidelines of a World Cup race, among other things.

“Therefore, their presence in Cortina during these Games can be questioned,” he said, citing IOC rules on athletes’ military connections and active support for the war, including through their social media activities.

American-born Edelman, who according to the Times of Israel is the first Orthodox Jew to represent Israel at the Winter Olympics, posted on social media that he was aware of Renna’s comment, which he described as a “rant.”

″(We are) a team of six proud Israelis who have made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No great program. Just a dream, courage and unwavering pride in who we represent,” he wrote. “I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give credence to the comment.”

The IOC rules on active support for war refer only to Russian and Belarusian athletes who are allowed to compete in the Olympics as neutrals despite their countries’ ban, following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Renna, who has been banned from discussing his comment by RTS, also cited the case of Ukrainian runner Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the Olympics last week for wearing a helmet depicting compatriot athletes killed since the Russian invasion. Edelman and Menachem must complete their third and fourth races on Tuesday. They were in last place after their first two races.