Adidas Arabia issues apology over campaign featuring former Israeli soldier

Sportswear company Adidas has faced renewed criticism over an advertisement featuring former Israeli soldier Shalev Biton, with its Middle East and Arab-world operation issuing an apology following calls for a boycott by pro-Palestine activists.

The controversy centres on an advertisement for Adidas’ “Single Shoe” service, which is intended for amputees who require only one shoe. The campaign showed Biton, who lost a leg after being wounded during the 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict, trying on a shoe at an Adidas outlet in Israel and later running with a prosthetic leg, Maktoob Media reported.

The choice of Biton as the face of the campaign drew strong criticism from pro-Palestine campaigners, who argued that featuring a former Israeli soldier in an advertisement focused on amputees was particularly insensitive given the number of Palestinians who have lost limbs or suffered severe injuries in Gaza.

According to the World Health Organization, between 5,000 and 6,000 people in Gaza had undergone amputations by early October 2025, when Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire. Around 42,000 Palestinians had reportedly suffered life-changing injuries by that point.

Adidas Arabia responded to the backlash by acknowledging that an image used in a recent local activation had provoked strong reactions. The regional operation said it had not intended to cause offence and apologised to those affected, adding that the concerns raised were being taken seriously.

The company also highlighted inclusion as one of Adidas’ core values and said its Single Shoe service was created for people unable to use conventional pairs of footwear. According to the company, the service is being rolled out across Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

However, the apology itself became another source of criticism, as Adidas Arabia issued the statement through its regional platform rather than the global Adidas account. Critics argued that the campaign represented the international brand and that responsibility therefore extended beyond its Middle East operation.

Moroccan-Spanish sports journalist and writer Leyla Hamed said the campaign could not be treated as merely a regional initiative and argued that Adidas globally should be accountable. She also highlighted the company’s reported links with the Anti-Defamation League, which she characterised as a prominent pro-Israel organisation.

Writer and activist Susan Abulhawa rejected the apology, arguing that Adidas had responded too late. She accused the company of having a pro-Zionist ideological position and described its apology as lacking credibility. Abulhawa also referred to last year’s controversy involving Palestinian-American model Bella Hadid, alleging that Adidas had dropped her because of her Palestinian identity, and urged consumers to look to alternative sportswear brands.

Jordanian filmmaker and visual storyteller Ala Hamdan similarly questioned why the apology had appeared only on Adidas’ Middle East account. She pointed out that the regional account has fewer than 1.5 million followers, while the company’s main account has around 30 million, yet the latter had not issued a comparable apology or publicly acknowledged the controversy.

Hamdan suggested that Adidas was attempting to contain the backlash in the Middle East without exposing its wider international audience to the controversy.

The advertisement had already triggered boycott demands from several pro-Palestine activists and public figures, including Spanish actor Javier Bardem, US-Palestinian writer Susan Abulhawa and Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto.