German sportswear giant Adidas is facing a wave of criticism and calls for a global boycott after choosing Shalev Biton, an IDF veteran who lost his leg in an anti-tank missile attack near the Gaza border, to promote its Israeli campaign for people with amputations and limb differences.
The hashtag #BoycottAdidas has spread across social media in recent days, while posts criticizing the company have drawn hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of views.
At the center of the controversy is Adidas’ Single Shoe Service, which allows customers who need only one shoe to purchase it for 50% of the price of a full pair. The service was not created specifically for Israel or for soldiers. Adidas has operated it since January in more than 20 European countries and recently expanded it to Israel.
To promote the service locally, the company selected Biton, who served in the IDF’s Nahal Brigade. On May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, Biton was seriously wounded when an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip struck a military vehicle near the border. His fellow soldier, Staff Sgt. Omer Tabib, was killed in the attack.
After several surgeries, Biton’s left leg was amputated. He later underwent rehabilitation and returned to running with a prosthetic limb.
On Aug. 26, Biton announced his partnership with Adidas on Instagram, explaining that since he resumed running, he had repeatedly been forced to buy two running shoes despite using only one.
He described the launch of the service in Israel as a dream come true and said it represented a broader shift in which the world adapts to the needs of people with disabilities rather than always requiring them to adapt to it.
Within days, however, his selection became the focus of a campaign by pro-Palestinian activists and social media accounts. One of the most widely circulated posts came from the LPC, Land Palestine account on X, which claimed Adidas had chosen an Israeli soldier who lost his leg during the Gaza war to promote the campaign.
The post drew nearly 4 million views, along with thousands of shares and comments.
Biton, however, lost his leg after an anti-tank missile struck an IDF force near the Gaza border, not inside the Gaza Strip as some of the posts claimed.
Social media was soon filled with comparison images and memes juxtaposing Biton with amputee children from Gaza. One widely shared image showed Biton running with his prosthetic leg next to a Palestinian girl using crutches, under the caption: “Adidas continues to ignore amputee children in Gaza.” Similar images were circulated on X, Instagram and other pro-Palestinian accounts.
Another account, The Resonance, posted a video that misleadingly presented the service as a program intended for “Israeli soldiers who lost a leg in Gaza,” alongside a message saying that boycotting the company was “the least we can do.” The post circulated widely and helped drive further use of the #BoycottAdidas hashtag.
Eye on Palestine, one of the most prominent pro-Palestinian accounts on Instagram, also joined the campaign. Its post accused Adidas of highlighting an Israeli soldier who had lost a leg while ignoring Palestinians who lost limbs during the war. Within hours, the post had received more than 10,000 likes and about 1,300 comments, many of them calling for a boycott and tagging Adidas’ official accounts.
Public figures and influencers with large followings also joined the criticism. Pakistani author and journalist Fatima Bhutto, who has about 2.4 million followers on X, wrote: “Boycott? Easy.” Palestinian activist Abeer Khatib said she was “burning every Adidas product” she owned.
American influencer Guy Christensen, who has about 3.7 million followers on TikTok, called the company’s choice of Biton “disgusting” and shared the #BoycottAdidas hashtag. Writers Hend Amry and Susan Abulhawa, as well as sports journalist Leyla Hamed, also joined the backlash.
As of Friday night, Adidas had not issued a public response to the boycott calls.