When Israel’s bobsleigh team qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, some were quick to draw comparisons to the 1993 comedy Cool Runnings, which followed a Jamaican bobsleigh team trying to qualify for the Olympics. For Israel, a warm Middle Eastern country where snow only occurs at high-altitude, this was a historic achievement. It was the first time that Israel had ever qualified in the bobsleigh event.
“Dreams do come true. For this dream, that day is today. The Israeli Bobsled Team is now ‘The Israeli Olympic Bobsled Team.’ We are headed to Milan,” pilot and team captain Adam “AJ” Edelman wrote on Instagram after qualification in January.
Self-describing their team as “Shul Runnings”, Israel entered in both the two-man and the four-man disciplines. However their entry was met with a horrific example of anti-Zionism from a commentator at one of Europe’s leading broadcasters.
During one of the runs by Edelman and his teammate Chen Menachem in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a commentator for Switzerland’s French-language public broadcaster RTS spent the entire Israeli team’s run, from start to finish, giving an anti-Zionist rant against the Israeli team. Stefan Renna said that Edelman had defined himself as “a self-defined Zionist to the core” and had posted messages on social media supporting what the commentator referred to as the “genocide” in Gaza. He also asserted that “genocide is the term used by the UN” to describe Israel’s military campaign.
The truth is that there is no genocide in Gaza. The slur is a modern blood libel levelled against Israel. Sadly, the Swiss commentator, like many people, have been misled by the onslaught of propaganda against Israel, and felt so strongly that he compromised his professional role of reporting the Olympic event to verbally attack individuals in a participating team.
This targeting is the reality that shockingly many Israelis and Jews around the world are facing.
Renna went on to cite comments previously made by Endelman, including his description of Israel’s military response as “the most morally just war in history”, and alleged that the athlete had mocked a “Free Palestine” slogan seen on a wall in Lillehammer during a Bobsleigh World Cup event.
During the broadcast, Renna also raised the question of whether Edelman should have been barred from the Games, referring to International Olympic Committee (IOC) eligibility rules.
“When this member of the Israeli team is present here in Cortina, who was engaged in an operation by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in 2023, this raises the question of his presence in Cortina during these Games,” he said.
Renna cited IOC guidance stating that athletes who “actively supported the war” through military engagement or public statements were not eligible to compete. However, the policy he referenced was issued in 2023 in relation to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and was used to justify the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee.
Even though AJ Edelman and Menachem Chen finished 26th in the two-man bobsleigh, their achievement was still historic. They were the most inexperienced team in the competition, and their final placing is typical for a county’s debut year.
Edelman, who has played a central role in building Israel’s bobsleigh programme and is widely reported to be the first Orthodox Jew to represent Israel at a Winter Olympics, addressed the commentary on social media.
“I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli Bobsled Team on the Swiss Olympics broadcast,” he wrote.
“I can’t help but notice the contrast: Shul Runnings is a team of six proud Israelis who’ve made it to the Olympic stage. No coach with us. No big programme. Just a dream, grit, and unyielding pride in who we represent.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to witness that and give any credence to the commentary.”
Yael Arad, chairwoman of the Olympic Committee of Israel and an IOC member put it well, saying that being there and raising the Israeli flag is in itself the best response.
“The statement of the Swiss broadcaster is a brazen statement, it must be said. During yesterday’s bobsleigh broadcast there was a remark that we do not accept. Any attempt to link an Israeli athlete to genocide is wrong and improper,” Arad said.
“After saying all that, the fact that we are here and able to raise the Israeli flag is in itself the answer to all those who do not understand the Israeli and Jewish spirit,” she added.
A statement by broadcaster RTS said that they have subsequently removed the commentary segment from their website, but it appears to defend the basis of what their commentator said:
“Our journalist wished to question the IOC’s policy regarding the statements made by the athlete concerned. 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.”
No, it is not “factual”, RTS. And failing to condemn the content of what their commentator said fuels antisemitism. Political and inflammatory remarks have no place in Olympic broadcasting, nor should any individual athlete be singled out and branded with such false and hateful accusations towards the country for which they represent.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) distanced itself from the controversy saying that questions regarding individual comments made by commentators must be directed to broadcasters. But Israel’s Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar says the IOC should condemn the remarks.
“It is unacceptable that broadcasting unions around the world humiliate Israeli athletes and present them as supporters of genocide and call for their disqualification,” Zohar said. “I support Israel’s athletes, Adam Edelman, and call on the International Olympic Committee to condemn the remarks of the Swiss broadcasting union and keep the Winter Olympics free of politics.”
