The IDF veteran lost his leg after being wounded in an anti-tank missile attack near the Gaza border in 2021.
By Shula Rosen
Adidas has defended a campaign featuring an IDF veteran who lost his leg after anti-Israel activists called for a boycott of the sportswear company over its choice of Shalev Biton to promote a service designed for amputees.
Biton appears in the Israeli campaign for Adidas’ Single Shoe service, which allows customers who need only one shoe to purchase it individually rather than buying a pair.
The IDF veteran lost his leg after being wounded in an anti-tank missile attack near the Gaza border in 2021.
The campaign prompted criticism from anti-Israel activists after a social media post contrasting Biton with an injured Gazan girl was liked and shared tens of thousands of times. The post showed Biton jogging with a prosthetic left leg alongside an image of the girl in a hospital bed, with users claiming she had been injured in an Israeli airstrike.
Its caption accused Adidas of “ignoring amputee children in Gaza” by featuring an Israeli soldier, and activists subsequently called for a boycott of the German company.
Adidas responded by stressing that Single Shoe is an international accessibility program rather than an initiative developed for Israel or IDF veterans.
“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.
Adidas said the program was developed with communities and professional organizations, including the British Paralympic Association, as part of efforts to make sports more accessible.
The company did not directly address the boycott campaign but said it was “aware that interpretations in recent days have misrepresented the purpose of the service.”
Adidas added that it “is important to clarify that this is a global initiative intended to expand choice and accessibility for athletes and consumers around the world.”
Show support for the Pro-Israel Adidas ad campaign by purchasing Adidas products.
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