Adidas has apologised after facing a wave of criticism from anti-Israel activists for using a former IDF soldier in an advertisement.
The German sportswear giant included Shalev Biton, who lost his leg in 2021 after a missile was fired from Gaza into Israel, in a poster to promote a service for amputees to purchase just one running shoe.
Biton was featured alongside ten other disabled athletes in a series of posters displayed in local Adidas outlets across Israel.
The posters only appeared in Israel and were not part of the global campaign but within days of the campaign going live, Biton’s involvement drew a fierce backlash.
Spanish actor Javier Bardem shared several posts on Instagram criticising the decision, including one which accused Adidas of “helping child killers get back on their feet”.
Stephanie Westbrook, said to be a founding member of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, told Al Jazeera: “This isn’t Adidas being tone-deaf or insensitive; it is an absolute affront to the Palestinians who have lost their loved ones, killed by Israel, and who have lost their limbs [to Israeli attacks].”
She claimed the campaign would “normalise Israel’s crimes against Palestinians and allow it to continue to commit them with impunity”.
In response, Adidas appeared to distance itself from its Israeli branch.
The company said: “We recognise that an image used in a recent local activation by the local team has raised concerns and strong reactions. It was never our intent to cause offence and we apologise for anyone affected.”
Adidas went on to stress its ‘Single Shoe’ in-store service was a campaign aimed at promoting inclusion and had been initially introduced in Europe.
Biton lost his leg in 2021 after an anti-tank rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip and struck the military vehicle he was in on the Israeli side of the border. A fellow soldier, Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, was killed in the attack, while Biton’s left leg had to be amputated. After rehabilitation, he now runs with a prosthetic limb.
On August 26, Biton announced his collaboration with Adidas on Instagram, explaining that since returning to running, he had been forced to purchase full pairs of running shoes despite needing only one shoe.
He described the launch of the Single Shoe service in Israel as a dream come true, saying it reflected a broader shift towards a world that adapts to the needs of people with disabilities rather than expecting them to adapt to existing systems.
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