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Shalev Biton, an amputee and former Israel Defense Forces soldier, said he faced online abuse and mass reporting after Adidas showcased him while advertising its single shoe service in Israel.
Biton lost his left leg in May 2021, when an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza struck his vehicle on the Israeli side of the border during Operation Guardian of the Walls. He belonged to the Nahal Brigade’s Battalion 931 and later returned to running on a prosthetic.
The service is intended for people who need only one shoe following limb loss. Adidas launched it in Europe with disability organizations, then made it available in the Middle East and elsewhere. In Israel, Adidas advertised the service through posters and videos, keeping the rollout local rather than global.
Anti-Israel activists and public figures, including Spanish actor Javier Bardem, called for a boycott of Adidas over its decision to feature the wounded IDF veteran. Critics cited Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and large number of amputees, arguing that Biton’s inclusion was insensitive.
More than two years separated Biton’s injury from the Gaza war triggered by Hamas’s October 7th massacre. There should be nothing offensive about featuring Biton in a campaign for disabled athletes simply because he served in the IDF. Yet the backlash treated his Israeli identity as disqualifying, exposing a disturbing double standard even within a campaign devoted to inclusion.
Adidas’s global headquarters distanced itself from the Israeli campaign and addressed the criticism directly. “It was never our intent to cause offense and we apologize for anyone affected,” the company said, adding that it would “continue to listen, learn, and work to ensure that our actions reflect the inclusive values we stand for.”
Biton said he had been hit by an “absolutely insane wave of hatred and reports from all over the world.” He added that major anti-Israel accounts with millions of followers had posted about him repeatedly and that “the abuse and reports just don’t stop.”
He ended his post with a direct appeal to supporters, writing, “I want to feel that you’re here with me.”
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