Adidas campaign draws boycott calls over former Israeli soldier’s amputee service advert
Pro-Palestinian activists say the campaign is offensive amid widespread amputations and life-changing injuries in Gaza.
Adidas is facing criticism and calls for a boycott over an advertisement featuring Shalev Biton, a former Israeli soldier who lost a leg during the 2021 Israel–Gaza conflict.
The advertisement promotes Adidas’s single-shoe service for amputees and shows Biton trying on a shoe at an Adidas store in Israel before running outdoors.
Stephanie Westbrook, boycott campaigns coordinator for the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, told Al Jazeera the campaign was “an affront to Palestinians”. Activists say it risks normalising Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians.
The criticism comes amid severe injuries and restricted access to medical care in Gaza. The World Health Organization estimated that between 5,000 and 6,000 people had undergone amputations there by early October 2025.
UNICEF figures cited in the report say 42,000 Palestinians, including 11,000 children, suffered life-changing injuries since the war began in October 2023. Activists also say Israel’s blockade has limited access to medicines, prosthetics and rehabilitation services.
Boycott calls have been amplified by Spanish actor Javier Bardem, US-Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa and Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto. The available reporting does not state Adidas’s response or quantify any effect on sales.
