Adidas Slammed and Boycott Calls Mount Over Israeli Soldier in Ad
Adidas is getting a ton of backlash and boycott calls after featuring former Israeli soldier Shalev Biton in a new ad. Biton, who lost a limb from an injury during the 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict, is shown trying on shoes at an Adidas store and running outdoors. The ad is being seen as an insult to Palestinians by boycott campaign coordinator Stephanie Westbrook from PACBI.
Westbrook says the campaign normalizes Israel's crimes against Palestinians, especially with the dire situation in Gaza where thousands of people have undergone amputations without proper access to prosthetics because of Israel's blockade. Boycott calls have also been echoed by figures like actor Javier Bardem, writer Susan Abulhawa, and Fatima Bhutto.
The WHO recorded 5,000 to 6,000 amputations in Gaza as of October 2025, while UNICEF reported 42,000 Palestinians permanently injured, including 11,000 children, since the war in October 2023. Activists are pointing out the destruction of health facilities and the blocking of humanitarian aid that's making the crisis there even worse.
https://www.gelora.co/2026/09/