IDF soldier with an amputated leg became the face of Adidas - and sparked a global storm
Shlev Biton, who was wounded five years ago by anti-tank fire on the Gaza border and had his leg amputated, is at the center of a storm after becoming the face of a service operated by the company for those who need only one shoe. His picture is being circulated on social media, alongside hashtags and posts against the sports giant that have reached millions of views: "Ignoring children with amputated limbs in Gaza."
The German sports giant Adidas has been dealing in the last day with a wave of criticism and calls for a boycott around the world, following the choice of Shlev Biton, a soldier who lost his leg after being wounded by anti-tank fire on the Gaza border during Operation Guardian of the Walls, to participate in the company's Israeli campaign intended for people with amputations and limb differences. The hashtag was circulated on social media, and posts against the company accumulated hundreds of thousands and even millions of views.
At the center of the storm is Adidas' Single Shoe Service, which allows those who need only one shoe to purchase it for 50% of the price of a full pair. The service is not an initiative created specifically for Israel or for soldiers, but rather Adidas has been operating it since January of this year in more than 20 countries in Europe, and in recent months has expanded it to Israel as well.
To promote the service in Israel, Biton was chosen, who served as a soldier in the 931st Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. On May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, he was seriously wounded after an anti-tank missile fired from the Gaza Strip hit a military vehicle near the border. In the incident, his fellow unit member, Staff Sergeant Omer Tabib, was killed. After several surgeries, Biton's left leg was amputated, and he later underwent rehabilitation and returned to running using a prosthesis.
On August 26, Biton published the collaboration with Adidas on Instagram and said that since he returned to running, he had to purchase a pair of running shoes every time, even though in practice he uses only one shoe. He defined the launch of the service in Israel as a dream come true, and explained that for him, it is a move that allows the world to adapt itself to the needs of people with disabilities - and not to demand that they always adapt themselves to it.
However, within days, the choice of him became the focus of an attack by activists and pro-Palestinian accounts. One of the most prominent publications came from the LPC - Land Palestine account on X, which claimed that Adidas chose an Israeli soldier who lost his leg during the war in Gaza to promote the campaign. The post accumulated close to four million views, thousands of shares, and thousands of comments. It should be noted that Biton lost his leg following anti-tank fire at an IDF force in the border area and not inside the Gaza Strip, as was claimed.
Social media also filled with comparison images and memes placing Biton against children with amputated limbs from Gaza. In one of the images circulated, Biton is seen running with the prosthesis next to a Palestinian girl moving with the help of crutches, under the caption: "Adidas continues to ignore children with amputated limbs in Gaza." Similar images are being circulated on X, Instagram, and other pro-Palestinian accounts.
The Resonance account also published a video in which the service was presented in a misleading way as a program intended for "Israeli soldiers who lost a leg in Gaza," alongside the call that a boycott of the company is "the least that can be done." The post was widely circulated and led to a series of additional publications under the hashtag. On Instagram, Eye on Palestine, one of the most prominent pro-Palestinian accounts on the network, joined the storm. In a post it uploaded, it was claimed that the company chose to highlight an Israeli soldier with an amputated leg while simultaneously ignoring Palestinians who lost their limbs in the war. Within hours, the publication accumulated more than 10,000 likes and about 1,300 comments, many of which included calls of "Boycott" and "Boycott Adidas" and tagging of the company's official accounts.
Public figures and influencers with large audiences also joined the calls for a boycott. The Pakistani writer and journalist Fatima Bhutto, who has about 2.4 million followers on X, wrote: "Boycott? That's easy." Palestinian activist Abeer Khatib announced that she is "burning every Adidas product" in her possession, and the American influencer Guy Christensen, who has about 3.7 million followers on TikTok, defined the choice of Biton as "disgusting" and circulated the hashtag. Writers Hind Amri and Susan Abulhawa and sports journalist Laila Hamad also joined the attack. As of now, Adidas has not published a public response to the boycott calls.
