During the Israeli bobsled team’s event Monday at the Milano Cortina Olympics, a Swiss commentator questioned the participation of Israeli captain AJ Edelman in the 2026 Winter Games, suggesting that he should be barred over his “support of the genocide in Gaza.”

In Radio Television Suisse’s coverage of Monday’s two-man bobsled competition, the commentator used the entire nearly two minutes of the Israeli team’s run to lambast Edelman and the supposed hypocrisy of allowing Israeli athletes to compete while Russia is banned from the Olympics due to its invasion of Ukraine.

The clip quickly went viral on social media, sparking a response from Edelman, who said he wouldn’t give “credence” to the Swiss broadcast, and sharp condemnation from an Israeli minister and the Israeli Olympic Committee, which demanded an apology from RTS.

“Edelman, a first-time Olympian and self-described ‘Zionist to the core,’ who has posted several messages on social media in support of the genocide in Gaza,” RTS presenter Stefan Renna said as the Israeli team began its second and final run of Monday’s event.

Renna noted that “genocide is the term used by the UN commission of inquiry into the region,” referencing the accusation made last year by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), a non-legal panel that does not speak on behalf of the UN. The accusation, which has not been levied by the UN itself, was immediately rejected by Israel as “distorted and false.”

Jerusalem has repeatedly denied that it has committed genocide in Gaza during the war that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, saying it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stressing that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Commentator Stefan Renna on Swiss public broadcaster RTS sparked controversy during Israeli captain AJ Edelman’s second bobsleigh run at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, bringing up Edelman’s past social media posts supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza, including one… pic.twitter.com/TenlLtbRiw — Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) February 17, 2026

Commentator Stefan Renna on Swiss public broadcaster RTS sparked controversy during Israeli captain AJ Edelman’s second........

© The Times of Israel