Following accusations of anti-Semitism, sporting goods manufacturer Adidas is looking to change an advertising campaign featuring US top model Bella Hadid. The company confirmed this upon request.
The subject of the dispute is a new edition of the “SL 72” sneaker model, originally developed for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Some Jewish organizations have expressed huge criticism of the current marketing campaign against the background of the attack by Palestinian terrorists on the Israeli Olympic participants.
At that time, several Israeli athletes were murdered by Palestinian terrorists. Additionally, Bella Hadid, who is of Palestinian descent, has recently been accused of making anti-Israeli statements on several occasions.
An Adidas spokesman said: “We are aware that links have been made to tragic historical events – even if they are completely unintentional – and we apologize for any confusion or distress this may have caused.” For this reason, we are reviewing the campaign The company did not provide further details about the proposed changes.
The campaign for “SL 72″ was presented on Monday. The international organization Combat Antisemitism Movement said on Thursday: “The fact that Adidas chose Hadid, who constantly incites against the Jews and attacks the Jewish state, is bad enough. But the fact that they are releasing a shoe that is reminiscent of the Olympic Games where so much Jewish blood was spilled is sickening.”