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Adidas has come under fire after featuring an Israeli soldier to promote its Single Shoe service in Israel.

The in-store service, which has been live since January, was launched to “help make its footwear more accessible to those living with leg limb difference — by offering customers the option of purchasing only their required shoe,” according to the German-based sportswear company.

The service allows amputees to purchase only one required footwear at half price. However, Adidas has set off a firestorm of criticism online after featuring Shalev Biton, an Israeli soldier who lost his leg during the 2021 onslaught on Gaza, in one of its campaign videos.

Palestinian-American writer and activist Susan Abulhawa pointed out how Israel is responsible for creating the highest number of child amputees per capita in modern history in Gaza.

“I hope good people of the world let Adidas know they made a toxic decision to cheer genocide. May it poison their brand forever,” she wrote.

Many, including Pakistani writer and columnist Fatima Bhutto, called for a boycott of the company.

“More than 5,000 traumatic limb amputations have been estimated since October 2023, as a result of Israeli attacks carried out by soldiers like the one Adidas chose to model for them,” wrote Spanish-Moroccan sports journalist Leyla Hamed.

This isn’t the first time the company has attracted controversy over its connections to Israel. In 2024, Adidas issued an apology to Bella Hadid, the Palestinian-American model, after she threatened legal action over a controversial ad campaign inspired by the 1972 Munich Olympics.

The United Nations reported in July that since the events of October 7, 2023, Israel is responsible for killing at least 20,179 children and injuring 44,143 children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.