Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-09-06 · by Al Jazeera Staff
Adidas is facing criticism and calls for a boycott over an advertising campaign featuring former Israeli army soldier Shalev Biton, who lost his leg in the 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict. Human rights campaigners and pro-Palestine activists are criticizing Adidas for what they see as a tone-deaf move that "normalises" Israel's crimes against Palestinians. According to Stephanie Westbrook of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, such campaigns allow Israel to continue committing atrocities with impunity. The World Health Organization estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 people in Gaza have undergone amputations as a result of the conflict.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Adidas is facing calls for a boycott over an advertising campaign that features a former Israeli soldier who lost his leg during the 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict. The ad promotes the company's single-shoe service for amputees and shows Shalev Biton trying on a shoe in a store in Israel and then wearing it while running outdoors. Critics, including human rights campaigners and pro-Palestine activists, argue that the campaign is an "affront to Palestinians" because it normalizes Israeli actions against them and allows Israel to continue committing crimes with impunity. The outrage and online boycott campaign is not surprising, given Adidas' previous involvement in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Biton's story highlights the devastating impact of conflict on civilians, as over 5,000 Palestinians also lost limbs** during the same 11-day assault that injured him. The controversy has sparked a renewed debate about Adidas' role in perpetuating Israeli actions against Palestinians and its commitment to human rights.
Written for “Adidas Boycott Campaign Controversy” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Sportswear giant Adidas has faced criticism and calls for a boycott for featuring a former Israeli army soldier in an advertising campaign for the company’s single-shoe service for amputees.
asserted
Adidas → face → amputees
The Adidas advertisement promoting its in-store service, which shows former Israeli soldier Shalev Biton trying on a shoe at a store in Israel and then wearing it while running outdoors, was termed “an affront to Palestinians” by a boycott campaigns coordinator on Sunday.
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Biton → promote → Sunday
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women → change → football
Gaza amputees struggle under blockade and rubble
Biton lost his leg after being wounded during the 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict, during which the Israeli army attacked the besieged enclave repeatedly in an 11-day assault.
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army → struggle → assault
Human rights campaigners and pro-Palestine activists say the immediate outrage and online boycott campaign targeted at Adidas should not come as a surprise to the German athletic apparel and footwear company.
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outrage → say → company
“This isn’t Adidas being tone-deaf or insensitive; it is an absolute affront to the Palestinians who have lost their loved ones, killed by Israel, and who have lost their limbs [to Israeli attacks],” Stephanie Westbrook, a sports boycott campaigns coordinator for the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) – a founding member of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement – told Al Jazeera.
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Westbrook → lose → Jazeera
Westbrook underlined the danger of such campaigns, which she believes would “normalise Israel’s crimes against Palestinians and allow it to continue to commit them with impunity”.
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it → underline → impunity
“Here we have an Adidas campaign featuring an Israeli soldier, whose whole identity is centred around his being a soldier, who lost his leg while participating in one of the repeated Israeli assaults on Gaza, serving in an army of a state that is currently committing genocide, has carried out an illegal military occupation of the Palestinian territory, and that has been imposing a decades-long apartheid rule over Palestinians
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that → feature → Palestinians
,” she said.
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she → say → ?
The World Health Organization estimates that between 5,000 and 6,000 people in Gaza have undergone amputations as of early October 2025, when Israel and Hamas signed a “ceasefire” agreement.
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Israel → estimate → agreement
They are among the 42,000 Palestinians in Gaza who have sustained life-changing injuries during the two-year conflict.
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who → sustain → conflict
Nearly a year since the ceasefire, conditions remain dire due to Israel’s blockage of humanitarian aid from entering the enclave.
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conditions → remain → enclave
While the advertisement shows the soldier returning to the streets to exercise and run, more than one thousand Palestinian athletes have been killed during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
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athletes → show → Gaza
Hundreds of aspiring footballers have lost their limbs and have formed amputee football teams, finding some respite in sport despite their pain.
These players hold on to football as a means of survival and are trying to reclaim fragments of their former lives despite months of loss, injuries, and widespread destruction.
Spanish actor Javier Bardem was among those calling for a boycott of the sportswear brand.
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Bardem → aspire → brand
Bardem, who is a vocal pro-Palestine activist, shared several images and videos highlighting the boycott campaign on his social media accounts.
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who → share → accounts
US-Palestinian author Susan Abulhawa, Pakistani author Fatima Bhutto, and Palestinians on social media called for a boycott of Adidas products.
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Abulhawa → call → products
Rights campaigner Westbrook highlighted Israel’s blockade on Gaza, which prevents medicines and prosthetics from entering the Gaza Strip following Israeli destruction of the territory’s medical facilities.
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which → highlight → facilities
Children account for a quarter of all amputations in Gaza over the past two years, making it the place in the world with the highest number of child amputees per capita, according to the International Rescue Committee.
uncertain
it → account → Committee
Westbrook said Israel had “decimated the health sector”, causing a severe lack of care and rehabilitation services.
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Israel → say → care
“Its medieval siege is preventing prosthetics from even entering Gaza, creating this man-made shortage,” she added.
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she → prevent → shortage
Since the Israeli war on Gaza began in October 2023, reports the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 42,000 Palestinians have suffered life-altering injuries, of which 11,000 are children.
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11,000 → begin → which
