Adidas has apologized for an ad launch starring pro-Palestinian model Bella Hadid wearing a revamped shoe from the 1972 Munich Olympics, where Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.
Adidas spokesman Stefan Pursche said Thursday that “we apologize for any upset or distress caused” by the ads.
Ms. Hadid is an Arab American supermodel known for her Palestinian advocacy and anti-Israel views.
“We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events — though these are completely unintentional — and we apologize for any upset or distress caused,” Mr. Pursche told The Washington Times. “As a result, we are revising the remainder of the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force around the world and will continue our efforts to champion diversity and equality in everything we do.”
He did not say whether Adidas would remove Ms. Hadid from the ads. He noted that the campaign uses “a broad range of partners to celebrate our lightweight running shoe,” including American rapper ASAP Nast.
The German apparel giant was accused of being tone-deaf at best and antisemitic at worst for relaunching its SL 72 OG athletic trainer ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics with Ms. Hadid.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement called on Adidas to “apologize for this decision and drop Hadid immediately.”
“For Adidas to choose Hadid, someone who is constantly baiting Jews and attacking the Jewish State, is bad enough, but to have her launch a shoe commemorating an Olympics when so much Jewish blood was shed is just sick,” the group’s CEO, Sacha Roytman, said in a Thursday statement.
Ms. Hadid is featured wearing the sneakers in the “Originals” ad campaign, which was unveiled Monday and includes a Times Square billboard.
The Palestinian terrorist organization Black September infiltrated the Olympic Village in September 1972 before killing two members of the Israeli team and kidnapping nine others. All nine Israelis, an officer and five terrorists were killed in a failed rescue operation by West German police.
“Thoughtless actions like this only embolden Israel haters and anti-Semites ahead of the Paris Olympics scheduled to start next week with an Israeli delegation that has already been repeatedly threatened with violence,” Mr. Roytman said.
Antisemite Bella Hadid was chosen by Adidas as the face for the 1972 Olympic shoe relaunch.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 17, 2024
The same Olympics in which Jews were butchered by Palestinian terrorists.
If the shoes fits @adidas - how on par. pic.twitter.com/2jOVgIRv9s
The 1972 retro shoe was launched less than a year after Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and others and took 250 hostages. An estimated 116 people are still being held hostage, according to Amnesty International.
Concerns about Ms. Hadid’s Palestinian activism predate the massacre. In 2021, Stop Antisemitism Now launched a petition drive calling for companies to remove Ms. Hadid and her supermodel sister, Gigi Hadid, as their brand ambassadors.
The petition said the models are “fanning the flames of antisemitism by spreading misinformation and perpetuating antisemitic tropes through their social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram.” The petition has gathered more than 92,000 signatures.
On Instagram, Ms. Hadid shared a “Free Palestine” post accusing Israel of “colonization, ethnic cleansing, military occupation and apartheid over the Palestinian people that has been going on for YEARS!”
She has attended at least two pro-Palestinian rallies, including a 2017 protest in London opposing President Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The Tafsik Organization, which fights antisemitism, asked whether Adidas was “insane.”
“Is this real??? Jew hating Palestinian, Bella Hadid, is the face of the 1972 Munich Olympics @adidas shoes, where Palestinian terrorists slaughtered the entire Israeli team??” Tafsik asked on X. “IS THIS ACTUALLY REAL??? Is Adidas completely INSANE????”
Buying the shoe may be challenging. As of Thursday morning, the SL 72 OG, which retails for $100, was sold out on the U.S. Adidas and Nordstrom websites.
“As their name suggests, these ‘Super Light’ silhouettes were first launched in 1972 to equip athletes at the Munich Olympic Games,” Vogue magazine said in a July 12 article. “They revolutionized running and were intended to be worn between competitions.”
The Israeli publication Ynet said it learned that “the campaign will not appear in Israel.”
The ad campaign promo touts the retro 1972 sneaker as a shoe worn by “true Originals.”
“First unveiled in 1972, the introduction of the SL 72 sneaker was the spark plug that initiated a paradigm shift in the realm of running shoes,” said Adidas. “Today, over half a century later, sport and culture are more intertwined than ever before and the timeless silhouette has been worn by true Originals, everywhere.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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