By Julien Pretot
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Swiss broadcaster RTS said it had pulled from its website the commentary on an Olympic bobsleigh run in which one reporter questioned at length the presence of an Israeli athlete in Milano Cortina because of his alleged support for Israel’s actions in the Gaza war.
The commentary on Radio Television Suisse was aired throughout one of the runs of Israelis Adam Edelman and Chen Menachem in the two-man bobsleigh event on Monday.
The commentator, Stefan Renna, said Edelman had supported the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza conflict and he suggested that this breached the International Olympic Committee’s rules on political statements by athletes at the Games.
“Our journalist wished to question the IOC’s policy regarding the statements made by the athlete concerned,” RTS said in a statement to Reuters.
“However, although factual, such information may have appeared inappropriate due to its length within the context of a 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 must be directed to broadcasters. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Renna said in his commentary that Edelman defined himself as a Zionist, posted messages on social media in favour of what Renna referred to as 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.
“One can therefore question his presence in Cortina during these Games,” he said, citing IOC rules on athletes’ military connections and active support of war, including through their activities on social media.
American-born Edelman, who the Times of Israel said is the first Orthodox Jew to represent Israel at the Winter Olympics, posted on social media that he was aware of Renna’s commentary, which he described as a “diatribe”.
“(We are) a team of six proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big program. Just a dream, grit, and an unyielding pride in who we represent,” he wrote. “I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give any credence to the commentary.”
IOC rules on active support of war relate only to Russian and Belarusian athletes who are allowed to compete at the Olympics as neutrals despite the ban on their countries, following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Renna, who has been forbidden by RTS from discussing his commentary, also cited the case of Ukrainian skeleton racer 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 are due to complete their third and fourth runs on Tuesday. They were in last place after their first two runs.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; additional reporting by Karolos Grohmann and Mitch Phillips; editing by Hugh Lawson)
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