Swiss commentary on Israeli Olympic bobsleigh team termed ‘discriminatory’

Switzerland’s broadcasting complaints authority has announced that a local journalist’s TV commentary questioning the participation of a “Zionist” Israeli bobsledder at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics breached discrimination rules during the Games’ broadcast in February.

A nine-member independent panel voted 5-4 to uphold four public complaints about the broadcast on February 16 by French-language network Radio Television Suisse (RTS), the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (ICA or AIEP) said in its ruling on Friday.

Sports commentator Stefan Reina had called the Israeli team’s pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman “a Zionist to the core” as the team appeared on the screen during their run in the bobsleigh event.

“Adam Edelman is an Israeli athlete and a Zionist to the core, as he describes himself,” Reina said in a video verified by Al Jazeera.

“He has posted several messages on social media supporting the genocide in Gaza,” the commentator added as the Israeli team’s bobsleigh continued its 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.”

Reina was critical of the athlete’s presence in Cortina during these Games, saying it “raises questions” as it pertains to the International Olympic Committee’s decision that “any athlete who has participated in activities supporting war, either militarily or through their social media accounts, is ineligible to participate.”

The ICA said that Reina “spent the entire run discussing statements made on social media” by Edelman on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“A majority of the members concluded that the commentary — which appeared to have been prepared in advance — suggested that the Israeli athlete should be excluded from the Olympic Games due to his political views,” the ICA said in a statement.

“They found that this conveyed a stigmatising, and therefore discriminatory, message directed at him, in contrast to the 25 other athletes competing that day.

“The members determined that the sports commentator had subjected the Israeli athlete to unequal treatment, thereby violating the prohibition against discrimination.”

The ICA said that it would publish the written reasoning for its decision, detailing the measures it has requested, at a later date.

Generally, when the ICA finds a breach of the rules, it directs the broadcaster to take “measures to prevent any further violations” and to subsequently report on the steps taken.

At the time, Edelman called the commentary a “diatribe” and said he gave it no credence whatsoever.

Israel’s embassy in Switzerland said it was “deeply appalled by the blatant abuse” and demanded decisive action and a clear apology.

RTS removed the sequence from its website shortly after it was widely circulated on social media.

The nine-member ICA rules on complaints against radio and television programmes, determining whether any violations of the relevant laws have been committed.

“This includes compliance with the requirements of appropriateness and diversity, observance of fundamental rights, protection of minorities and the prohibition of glorification or extenuation of violence,” it said.

Appeals against ICA decisions can be lodged directly with Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court.

Reina’s commentary was commended by a wide range of sports fans and Palestinian supporters, who lauded his courage in using his platform to condemn the Israeli athletes.

Israel’s continuing genocidal war in Gaza, despite an ongoing “ceasefire”, continues to draw international condemnation. On Friday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that Israeli forces in Gaza are displacing more Palestinians and their actions continue to raise concerns of ethnic cleansing.

The Israeli bobsleigh team finished last out of the 26 teams.