Adidas apologizes for including Israeli amputee in ad campaign

German sportswear giant bows to pressure from anti-Israel activists, apologizing for featuring a former IDF soldier in its ad campaign centered on disabled athletes.

By World Israel News Staff

German sportswear giant Adidas has apologized after anti-Israel activists launched boycott calls over an Israeli advertising campaign featuring Shalev Biton, an amputee athlete and former IDF soldier who lost his leg after being wounded by an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza in 2021.

Biton was one of 11 disabled athletes featured in an Israeli promotion for Adidas’s Single Shoe service, which allows people who need only one shoe to purchase it for half the price of a full pair.

The campaign drew widespread criticism on social media after activists highlighted Biton’s previous service in the IDF and contrasted his participation with Palestinians who have lost limbs during the war in Gaza.

Adidas responded Monday with an apology issued by its global headquarters.

“It was never our intent to cause offense and we apologize for anyone affected,” the company said.

Adidas described the material featuring Biton as a local Israeli promotion and stressed that the Single Shoe program itself is an international accessibility initiative operating in numerous countries.

The company said it was taking the criticism seriously and would continue reviewing its actions to ensure they were consistent with its stated commitment to inclusion.

Adidas Arabia, the company’s regional operation, also issued an apology amid the backlash.

The controversy began after Biton promoted the Single Shoe service in a Hebrew-language video, explaining the difficulties amputees face when they are required to buy two shoes despite needing only one.

The video did not mention Biton’s military service or explain how he had been wounded.

Biton served in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021. On May 12 of that year, an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck the military vehicle in which he was traveling near the Gaza border.

Biton was seriously wounded and eventually had his left leg amputated. Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib was killed in the same attack.

Following extensive rehabilitation, Biton returned to running using a prosthetic leg.

His participation in the Adidas campaign nevertheless became the focus of a social-media campaign against the company, with some posts incorrectly portraying the Single Shoe initiative as a program created specifically for Israeli soldiers wounded in Gaza.

Others falsely suggested that Biton had lost his leg while participating in the war that began following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks. His injury occurred more than two years earlier.

Spanish actor Javier Bardem was among the prominent figures who amplified calls to boycott Adidas.

Adidas launched the Single Shoe service across 23 European countries in January, after consulting disability organizations and ParalympicsGB.

Under the program, people with a leg or limb difference can purchase a single shoe from participating Adidas-owned stores for 50% of the price of a pair. The service applies to footwear already in stock rather than to a special line designed specifically for amputees.

Adidas said when it launched the program that it was intended to eliminate an unnecessary financial and practical barrier for customers who only require one shoe.

The company subsequently expanded the initiative beyond Europe, including into Israel and several Arab markets. Adidas said the service is also being rolled out in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt and the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli advertisements were not part of a worldwide campaign featuring Biton. Rather, he was one of 11 disabled athletes selected for promotional materials displayed in Adidas stores in Israel.

The dispute is the latest instance in which Adidas has faced political pressure over its relationship with Israel.

In 2024, the company drew criticism after selecting anti-Israeli Arab-American model Bella Hadid for a campaign reviving its SL72 sneaker, originally released for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Games.

Following criticism from Israel and Jewish organizations, Adidas removed Hadid from the campaign and apologized, saying connections to the Munich massacre had been “completely unintentional.”