Israel’s Historic Bobsled Debut at Winter Games Collides With Politics

Israel’s unlikely bobsled team was always going to draw attention during its Olympic debut. The team is making an historic appearance despite long odds when it comes to practice facilities and assembling the infrastructure to build a team worthy enough of qualifying for competition. Yet it can’t escape political controversy.That tension surfaced this week when a Swiss Olympic commentator questioned whether Israeli bobsled pilot A.J. Edelman should be allowed to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics due to his outspoken support of Israel’s war against Hamas at Gaza.The commentator, Stephan Renna, speaking on Switzerland’s RTS Sports channel during Israel’s first two-man bobsled runs, accused Mr. Edelman of offering what he described as “support of genocide in Gaza,” a term Mr. Renna said he was using based on United Nations language. Mr. Renna also referenced Mr. Edelman’s past public comments calling the war “the most morally just in history,” along with his mocking of “Free Palestine” graffiti during a World Cup event last year.“This raises the question of his presence in Cortina during these Games,” Mr. Renna said on air, pointing to International Olympic Committee rules that restrict Russian athletes to neutral status if they have expressed pro-war sentiments. The guidelines apply only to Russian and Belarusian competitors and do not govern athletes from other nations. Yet, the status of Russian athletes is frequently mentioned in regards to Israelis competing in the Olympics.Mr. Renna’s remarks drew praise from pro-Palestinian activists online and sharp backlash from supporters of Israel, some of whom called for the commentor to be dismissed.Mr. Edelman, a Boston native competing for Israel, offered a sharp response. “I am aware of the diatribe the commentator directed towards the Israeli Bobsled Team,” Mr. Edelman wrote on X. “But watching our team work together toward an incredible goal and crushing it — because that’s what Israelis do — makes it impossible to give any credence to the commentary.”For Mr. Edelman and his teammates, the Games aren’t about winning medals or making political statements. Victory was achieved by being able to build a team despite a lack of facilities and coaching.Israel’s two-man bobsled team of Mr. Edelman and brakeman Menachem Chen stood in last place mid-way through the competition, but neither seemed to mind.“We are victors,” Mr. Edelman said. “Not victims.”Israel has never before qualified a sled for the Winter Games, and Mr. Edelman has made a career of improbable firsts. He became Israel’s first Olympic skeleton athlete at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and is believed to be the first Orthodox Jew to compete in the Olympics.To see his dream of creating an Israeli bobsled team required years of fundraising, recruiting and persistence. It also came with plenty of obstacles that followed them to Italy.Before the Games began, the apartment used by members of the Israeli team as a training base was robbed. Passports, equipment and “thousands of dollars” worth of personal items were stolen. According to Mr. Edelman, the team returned to training the same day.“Such a gross violation,” Mr. Edelman wrote on social media. “And the boys headed right back to training. This team exemplifies the Israeli spirit.”Israel is competing with a delegation of 10 athletes at the Games, six of them sliders. Representation is the priority.“I’m just here to make everybody watching proud,” Israeli skeleton athlete Jared Firestone, an attorney in South Florida, said earlier. “Not, just represent Israel, but all Jewish people around the world.”The Israel team has aimed to steer clear of political controversy. IOC rules prohibit them from expressing political views during competition. Those rules were underscored last week when a Ukrainian skeleton athlete was barred from competition after refusing to remove a helmet honoring Ukrainian athletes killed in the war against Russia.

Israel’s Historic Bobsled Debut at Winter Games Collides With Politics

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