Gaza Genocide06 September, 20263 min read
Adidas Faces Boycott Calls Over Single Shoe Service Campaign Featuring Shalev Biton
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Adidas faces calls for boycott over campaign featuring Shalev Biton, Israeli ex-soldier and amputee. Campaign criticized for spotlighting Israeli veteran while Gaza amputee crisis persists; context ignored.
The Times of Israel was read line by line by the Watchdog: 5.0. See the score →
Adidas boycott calls
Adidas faced boycott calls after featuring former Israeli soldier Shalev Biton in a promotional campaign for its Single Shoe Service, which lets customers buy one shoe rather than a pair. Al Jazeera said the campaign promoted its single-shoe service for amputees and highlighted that Shalev Biton lost a leg in Gaza, while a social media campaign emphasized more than 5,000 Palestinians also lost limbs. Arab News said critics argued the decision to promote the service in Israel with an Israeli military veteran was especially fraught amid the war in Gaza, and it framed the backlash as focusing on Adidas’ choice of Biton as its representative.
The Times of Israel reported that Adidas apologized for any “offense” after “a recent local activation by the local team has raised concerns and strong reactions,” and it said the company’s posters were only used in Israel. In the same dispute, the World Health Organization figures cited by Arab News said more than 5,000 traumatic limb amputations and more than 22,000 major extremity injuries had been recorded in Gaza since October 2023.
Voices and online pressure
Arab News reported that Spanish actor Javier Bardem urged a boycott in an Instagram story posted on Sunday, calling on followers to stop supporting Adidas in solidarity with Palestinians.
In the same coverage, illustrator Gina Nakhle Koller criticized the campaign in an Instagram cartoon posted on Sunday, writing: “Over 6,000 amputees in Gaza. One in five is a child. Adidas chose an IDF soldier,”.
Haaretz described the controversy as boycott calls over an advertising campaign featuring a former Israeli soldier who lost a leg during Israel's fighting with Gaza in May 2021.
The Times of Israel said pro-Palestinian activists panned the company for working with Shalev Biton, injured in Gaza in 2021, and it quoted Adidas’ statement that it “apologize[s] for anyone affected.”
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera Net said the campaign sparked a wave of anger translated into calls and intensive campaigns to boycott the German company under the hashtags (#BoycottAdidas) and (#قاطعوا_أديداس).
What’s at stake next
Adidas’ apology and continued expansion plans became part of the dispute after the company said the Single Shoe service was a local activation in Israel and not part of a global campaign.
Anadolu Ajansı reported Adidas said it “will continue listening, learning, and working to ensure that its actions reflect the inclusive values it defends,” while also describing the service as launched in 23 European countries in January and expanding across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Arab News said the backlash unfolded against a wider humanitarian and rehabilitation crisis, citing the World Health Organization’s estimate that more than 42,000 people had injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation.
The World Health Organization figures cited by Arab News also said between September 2024 and May 2026, 2,277 amputees were evaluated and 502 were fitted with prosthetic devices, and it said UNICEF estimated more than 11,000 children had sustained life-changing injuries as of Feb. 3.
In parallel, Al Jazeera Net described how cartoonists redrew Adidas’ logo with imagery tied to Gaza’s amputations, including a depiction of Israeli soldiers’ helmets above the logo and gaps filled with the skulls of children.