German sportswear giant Adidas is facing a wave of criticism and calls for a global boycott after Shalev Biton, an IDF veteran who lost his leg after being wounded by anti-tank fire near the Gaza border during Operation Guardian of the Walls, appeared in a new campaign promoting running shoes.
Biton took part in the campaign after Adidas launched its Single Shoe service over the past year, allowing consumers and athletes who need only one shoe to buy a single shoe instead of a pair. Since the campaign gained attention, the hashtag #BoycottAdidas has spread across social media, with posts criticizing the company drawing hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of views.
At the center of the controversy is a new Adidas campaign for its Hyperboost running shoes. Biton was selected as one of 11 partners featured in the campaign and highlighted the company’s Single Shoe service in a post on social media.
Biton served as a combat soldier in Battalion 931 of the IDF’s Nahal Brigade. On May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, he 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 collaboration with Adidas on Instagram, explaining that since returning to running he had repeatedly been forced to buy a full pair of running shoes even though he uses only one. He described the launch of the Single Shoe service in Israel as a dream come true and said it represented a broader change in which the world adapts to the needs of people with disabilities rather than always expecting them to adapt.
Within days, however, his participation became the focus of attacks from 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 in 2021, not inside the Gaza Strip, as some of the posts suggested.
Social media was soon filled with comparison images and memes juxtaposing Biton with Palestinian children who lost limbs in Gaza. One widely shared image showed Biton running with his prosthetic leg alongside a Palestinian girl using crutches, with text accusing Adidas of “ignoring amputee children in Gaza.”
Another account, The Resonance, posted a video presenting 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 amputee soldier while ignoring Palestinians who lost limbs during the war. Within hours, it received more than 10,000 likes and around 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 backlash. 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 Adidas’ 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 criticism.
Adidas said in response that the Single Shoe service is a global accessibility initiative and rejected interpretations suggesting it was created specifically for Israeli soldiers.
“Adidas launched Single Shoe in Europe in January 2026, a service that allows consumers and athletes who need only one shoe to purchase a single shoe instead of a pair,” the company said. “The service was developed in cooperation with communities and professional organizations, including the British Paralympic Association, as part of Adidas’ commitment to expanding accessibility to sport.”
The company said the service was first launched in 23 European countries and has since expanded to additional markets in Asia and the Middle East.
“We are aware that interpretations in recent days have misrepresented the purpose of the service,” Adidas said. “It is important to clarify that this is a global initiative intended to expand choice and accessibility for athletes and consumers around the world.”