Switzerland’s independent broadcasting complaints authority has ruled that television commentary about Israeli bobsleigh pilot Adam Jeremy Edelman during the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics violated rules against discrimination. The nine-member panel voted 5-4 to uphold four public complaints concerning the February 16 broadcast on French-language network Radio Television Suisse, or RTS, according to a ruling announced on Friday.
As the Israeli team competed, sports commentator Stefan Reina described Edelman as “a Zionist to the core”, saying this was how the athlete characterised himself. In footage verified by Al Jazeera, Reina also accused Edelman of publishing social media messages supporting genocide in Gaza. He attributed the use of the term genocide to the United Nations Commission of Inquiry and cited Edelman’s description of Israel’s military intervention as “the most just and moral war in history”.
Reina questioned Edelman’s participation in the Games, referring to an International Olympic Committee decision that he said made athletes ineligible if they had supported war through military involvement or social media activity. The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television, known as the ICA or AIEP, said Reina devoted the team’s entire run to discussing Edelman’s online statements about Israel’s war in Gaza.
The panel’s majority concluded that the remarks appeared to have been prepared beforehand and implied that Edelman should be barred from the Olympics because of his political opinions. It found that the commentary stigmatised him and treated him differently from the other 25 competitors that day. That unequal treatment, the authority said, breached the prohibition on discrimination. The Israeli team ultimately placed last among the 26 teams.
The ICA said it would release its detailed written reasoning and the measures it had requested at a later date. When it finds a violation, the authority generally requires a broadcaster to take steps to prevent further breaches and then report on its response. Its decisions can be appealed directly to Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court.
Edelman dismissed the commentary at the time as a “diatribe” and said he gave it no credence. Israel’s embassy in Switzerland condemned the broadcast and called for decisive action and an explicit apology. RTS removed the segment from its website soon after it spread widely on social media. A wide range of sports fans and Palestinian supporters, meanwhile, praised Reina for using the broadcast to condemn the Israeli athletes.
The ruling came amid continuing international condemnation of Israel’s war in Gaza despite an ongoing ceasefire. On Friday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that Israeli forces were displacing additional Palestinians in Gaza and that their actions continued to raise concerns about ethnic cleansing.
