LONDON: Adidas is facing backlash and calls for a boycott on social media after featuring former Israeli soldier Shalev Biton in a promotional campaign for its Single Shoe Service, an accessibility program that lets customers buy one shoe rather than a pair. Critics, including rights advocates, artists and social media users, said the decision to promote the service in Israel with an Israeli military veteran was especially fraught amid the war in Gaza. They argued that the campaign highlighted an Israeli amputee who served in the military while thousands of Palestinians, including children, have lost limbs during the conflict with far less corporate visibility. The criticism has focused less on the Single Shoe Service itself than on Adidas’ choice of Biton as its representative and the political context surrounding the campaign. Biton lost his left leg after being wounded in fighting near Gaza in May 2021, according to Israeli media. Spanish actor Javier Bardem was among those urging a boycott. In an Instagram story posted on Sunday, Bardem called on followers to stop supporting Adidas in solidarity with Palestinians. Illustrator Gina Nakhle Koller also criticized the campaign in a cartoon she posted on Instagram on Sunday. It showed Biton wearing Adidas shoes next to a Palestinian girl standing on one foot with the aid of crutches. “Over 6,000 amputees in Gaza. One in five is a child. Adidas chose an IDF soldier,” she wrote. Palestinian American writer Susan Abulhawa reposted the Adidas promotional video on X and criticized the company’s selection of Biton. “The largest pediatric amputee population in the world was created by the likes of this genocidal demon,” she wrote. Other users posted videos showing themselves throwing away or otherwise disposing of Adidas footwear. Adidas said the service was not intended as a political statement. In a statement reported by The Times of Israel, the company said: “We are aware that interpretations in recent days have misrepresented the purpose of the service. “It is important to clarify that this is a global initiative intended to expand choice and accessibility for athletes and consumers around the world.” The backlash has unfolded against a widening humanitarian and rehabilitation crisis in Gaza. The World Health Organization said in May that more than 5,000 traumatic limb amputations and more than 22,000 major extremity injuries had been recorded in Gaza since October 2023. More than 42,000 people have injuries requiring long-term rehabilitation, the agency said. But Gaza’s health care system has faced severe shortages of rehabilitation services and assistive products, according to the WHO. Between September 2024 and May 2026, 2,277 amputees were evaluated and 502 were fitted with prosthetic devices, the agency said. Children have been among the most affected. UNICEF said in its latest State of Palestine appeal that more than 11,000 children had sustained life-changing injuries as of Feb. 3. A January 2024 CNN report, citing Save the Children and UNICEF, said more than 10 children a day had lost one or both legs in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. By December 2023, about 1,000 children had reportedly lost one or both legs, the report said. The dispute is the latest controversy involving Adidas and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In July 2024, the company removed Palestinian American model Bella Hadid from a campaign for a retro sneaker linked to the 1972 Munich Olympics after Israel objected to her participation. Hadid, who has publicly supported Palestinian rights, later hired a legal team, the Daily Mail reported, citing an unidentified source familiar with the matter. Adidas apologized to Hadid and other campaign partners, saying it had made an “unintentional mistake” and would revise the campaign.