American model Bella Hadid's campaign for the relaunched Adidas SL72 sports shoes. (Adidas)
Adidas removed American model Bella Hadid from an Olympic-related shoe marketing campaign on Friday in response to protests from pro-Israeli organisations. The German sportswear manufacturer apologised for causing "upset and distress" by naming Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, as the face of their relaunched SL72 sports shoes.
The first version of the footwear was designed for the 1972 Games, during which 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer were assassinated by a Palestinian militant.
A message published on X by the Israeli government and a number of Jewish organisations criticised the shoe's relaunch last week. They questioned Adidas' decision to use Hadid to promote a sneaker originally associated with an incident in which three Israelis were killed, Arab News reported.
Adidas said it would “revise” its campaign and added: “We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events, though these are completely unintentional, and we apologize for any upset or distress caused.”
Over the years, Hadid has continually supported Palestinians and criticised the Israeli government in public. She mourned the loss of innocent Palestinian lives in an Instagram post dated October 23, 2018, referring to the military assault that Israeli authorities had begun in response to attacks on October 7 as "the most intense bombardment in Gaza history.”
“US White House National Security Council dangerously says Israel ‘owes no one any justification’ and that it will have ‘no red lines.’ Innocent lives should always be justified in the name of humanity,” she added.
“Israel has completely shut off telecommunications and electricity across Gaza. Injured civilians currently can’t call ambulances. Medics are begging reporters to let them know where bombardments are happening, but reporters don’t know either because of the internet outage. The people of Gaza have nowhere to go. Children are dying. Please.”
Following Adidas' decision to remove Hadid from the campaign, prominent people including journalist Mehdi Hasan and Candace Owens defended the model on social media. There were those who called for a boycott of the business.