Germany's Adidas launched a fashion campaign ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, using vocal anti-Israel activist and supermodel Bella Hadid to promote their retro SL 72 shoe brand first featured during the 1972 Munich Olympics, where Palestinian terrorists massacred 11 Israel athletes. Ynet has learned that the campaign will not appear in Israel.
Since the October 7 massacre, Hadid has spread fake news about Hamas and the war in Gaza on her social media platforms. "With their Nazi roots and support for Kanye West despite his antisemitism, what is Adidas trying to prove?" the Stop Antisemitism activism group asked on Instagram and X.
The photos for the new campaign were taken recently, unlike many produced before the massacre, leaving Adidas without an explanation for its choices, beyond insensitivity, at best.
Reactions on social media included calls to ban Adidas, pointing to the company's founders who were members of the Nazi Party and provided their production facilities to the Nazi government to make ammunition for the war effort.
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Stop Antisemitsm post on Adidas pick of Bella Hadid for its campaign
(Photo: Instagram)
In an ironic twist, many of Hadid's followers also call for a ban of Adidas products, accusing the company of supporting Israel and the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. According to media reports, Adidas donated 150 million euros from profits from its Yeezy shoe line, made in partnership with Kanye West, to organizations fighting racism and antisemitism.