Adidas Apologizes After Anti-Israel Backlash Over Campaign Featuring Israeli Amputee

The sportswear giant said it was sorry for any “offense” after boycott calls targeted a local Israeli campaign featuring Shalev Biton, a former IDF soldier who lost his leg in a 2021 Hamas attack.

By  TheJ.ca Staff | TheJ.ca | Sept 8, 2026

By Adidas – SVG from original logo, Public Domain, Link [Resized]

Adidas has apologized following anti-Israel backlash and boycott calls over a local Israeli advertising campaign that featured Shalev Biton, an amputee athlete and former Israel Defense Forces soldier who lost his left leg after a Hamas anti-tank missile struck his military vehicle in 2021.

Biton was one of 11 disabled athletes featured in an Adidas Israel promotion for the company’s Single Shoe service, an accessibility initiative that lets people with limb differences buy the single shoe they need rather than paying for a pair.

The advertisements featuring Biton appeared in Adidas stores in Israel and were not part of a global advertising campaign.

His inclusion nevertheless triggered criticism from pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists, including Spanish actor Javier Bardem, and generated calls to boycott the German sportswear company.

Adidas subsequently issued an apology from its global headquarters.

“We recognize that an image used in a recent local activation by the local team has raised concerns and strong reactions,” the company said.

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

Adidas added that it was taking the criticism seriously and emphasized its commitment to communities throughout the Middle East.

The response appeared to distance the company’s global operation from the decision by its Israeli team to feature Biton.

Israeli Veteran Was Wounded By Hamas Fire

Biton’s personal history became central to the controversy.

He served in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade and was seriously wounded on May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, a period of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

An anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck the military vehicle in which Biton was travelling on the Israeli side of the border.

Biton was seriously injured and ultimately lost his left leg.

Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, who was serving with him, was killed in the attack.

Biton underwent rehabilitation and later returned to running using a prosthetic limb.

The Adidas campaign itself did not focus on his military service.

The Hebrew-language promotional video that drew attention to Biton did not explain that he had served in the IDF or describe how he lost his leg.

Instead, the campaign presented him as one of several athletes with disabilities participating in the company’s accessibility initiative.

Some criticism circulated online with inaccurate descriptions of Biton’s military history, including claims that he lost his leg while fighting inside Gaza or had participated in the war that began after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Biton’s injury occurred more than two years earlier, during the 2021 conflict, after a Hamas missile was fired into Israel.

Campaign Was Designed For People With Limb Differences

The controversy arose from an initiative designed specifically to address a practical problem experienced by amputees and other people with limb differences.

Adidas’s Single Shoe service allows eligible customers to purchase one shoe for 50 percent of the listed price of a pair.

The company introduced the service in 23 European countries earlier this year after developing it in consultation with disability organizations, including ParalympicsGB.

It has since been expanding the program into other markets.

Adidas said the service is expanding across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including Israel and several Arab markets.

The Israeli advertising initiative featured Biton alongside 10 other disabled athletes.

The posters were displayed locally at Adidas outlets in Israel.

The controversy escalated after images from the campaign circulated internationally on social media.

Boycott Calls Followed Campaign

Critics focused particularly on Biton’s previous service in the IDF and contrasted his participation in an amputee accessibility campaign with Palestinians who have suffered amputations during the Gaza war.

Bardem was among the prominent figures who amplified criticism of Adidas and encouraged opposition to the company over Biton’s participation.

Other activists accused the company of normalizing Israeli military actions.

The criticism also included allegations against Biton personally.

Supporters of Biton responded that he had himself been the victim of a Hamas attack and that the campaign was about accessibility for people with disabilities rather than Israeli military policy.

The dispute therefore moved well beyond the original purpose of the advertising campaign.

Instead of focusing primarily on whether people with limb differences should be able to buy a single shoe, the controversy became another international dispute over the participation of Israelis in global cultural and commercial life.

Adidas Says It Is Listening To Criticism

Adidas emphasized its regional activities in response to the boycott pressure.

“Across the Middle East, Adidas has a long-standing commitment to the communities we serve, working alongside athletes, teams and sporting communities throughout the region as well as supporting people and communities in need through product donations,” the company said.

It added that it would continue listening and learning to ensure its actions reflected what it described as its inclusive values.

The company did not say that featuring Biton was itself wrong.

Instead, it apologized for the offense caused by what it described as an image used in a “local activation” by its Israeli team.

That wording drew attention because the controversy involved an initiative whose stated purpose was to include people with disabilities.

Biton was eligible for the service for precisely the reason the program exists: he has one leg and therefore does not require a conventional pair of running shoes.

Biton Responds To Controversy

Biton subsequently addressed the backlash publicly.

In a social-media post reported by Jewish News, he said the controversy had grown beyond his individual participation in an Adidas campaign.

“This story is much bigger than me,” Biton wrote. “It’s about Israel. It’s about our soldiers. It’s about families, friends and an entire country living through a reality that is so often reduced to headlines, clips and narratives from thousands of miles away.”

The promotional video featuring Biton was no longer available on his Instagram account by Sunday, according to The Times of Israel, although copies had already circulated widely.

The episode is the latest example of an international company becoming caught in campaigns targeting its connections with Israel.

For Adidas, the controversy carries additional historical sensitivity.

The German company was founded by Adolf “Adi” Dassler, who joined the Nazi Party in 1933. Adidas has in more recent years publicly confronted controversies involving antisemitism, including terminating its highly lucrative partnership with rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, in 2022 after his antisemitic statements.

The current controversy is markedly different.

Adidas did not accuse Biton of misconduct. He was one of a group of disabled athletes selected to promote a service intended to make footwear more accessible to people with limb differences.

The company nevertheless found itself apologizing after his nationality and previous IDF service became the focus of an international boycott campaign.

What began as a local Israeli accessibility promotion consequently became a broader debate about whether an Israeli amputee who was wounded by Hamas fire should have been included in a campaign designed for amputees in the first place.