Journalist Stefan Reina made the remarks while commentating the Olympic bobsledding event for Radio Television Suisse.
A Swiss sports commentator has gone viral after he called an Israeli bobsledder a “Zionist to the core” and questioned why the bobsledder was allowed to compete in the Milan-Cortina Olympics despite supporting the “genocide” in Gaza.
Journalist Stefan Reina criticized Israeli bobsledder Adam Jeremy Edelman while commentating the Olympic bobsledding event for Radio Television Suisse on Monday.
“Adam Edelman is an Israeli athlete and a Zionist to the core, as he describes himself,” Reina said in a clip that RTS has since scrubbed from its YouTube account.
“He has posted several messages on social media supporting the genocide in Gaza,” Reina said of Edelman, the Israeli team’s pilot, as the team carried out its Olympic run.
“It should be noted that the term ‘genocide’ is the one used by the UN Commission of Inquiry. Edelman stated that the military intervention was ‘the most just and moral war in history,’ according to him,” he added.
The commentator went on to say Edelman’s appearance at the Games “raises questions” about the International Olympic Committee’s policy that “any athlete who has participated in activities supporting war, either militarily or through their social media accounts, is ineligible to participate.”
While that policy has been applied to Russian athletes because of the war in Ukraine, the commentator, and other Israeli critics, have questioned why the policy does not apply to the Jewish state.
“Edelman asked his followers to cheer on Ward Fawarsa – an Israeli athlete present here in Cortina – while he was involved in an Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip in 2023,” Reina added.
RTS confirmed the clip’s authenticity to Al Jazeera, confirming it removed the video from its YouTube because the commentary was “inappropriate.”
“Our journalist wanted to question the IOC’s policy regarding the statements made by the athlete in question,” RTS told Al Jazeera.
“However, such information, while factual, is inappropriate for sports commentary due to its length. Therefore, we removed the segment from our website last night,” the statement added.
Edelman, whose team finished last out of 26 teams, responded to the criticism in a statement on X.
“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli Bobsled Team on the Swiss Olympics broadcast today,” he wrote. “I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings is a team of 6 proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent. Working together towards an incredible goal and crushing it. Because that’s what Israelis do. I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give any credence to the commentary.”
Meanwhile, IOC spokesman Mark Adams responded to questions about the controversy during a news conference on Tuesday.
“I 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,” he said. “But in terms of specific comments by a commentator on one specific broadcast, I think that’s a matter to refer to the broadcaster. So that’s not a question for us at this stage.”