The company “Adidas” dropped the supermodel Bella Hadid, who is Palestinian by her father, from the advertising campaign for sneakers associated with the model launched for the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972, when Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israelis.
The German sports equipment company has said it will “revise” its campaign after criticism from Israel over the hiring of Bella Hadid and is withdrawing her photos.
American model Bela Hadid, whose family has roots in Palestine, was the face of the campaign for the “SL72” sneaker, which Adidas describes as a timeless classic.
The model, who has previously drawn the ire of the Israeli government for allegedly chanting the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, has been accused of anti-Semitism.
An official Israeli government statement published on the social network X (Twitter) states that they oppose Hadid being “the face of (Adidas’s) campaign” for a retro sneaker model from 1972 when “eleven Israelis were killed by Palestinian terrorists during the Munich Olympics “.
Bela Hadid has repeatedly criticized the Israeli government and supported the Palestinians over the years, and on October 23 she shared a post on Instagram lamenting the loss of innocent lives, while calling on her followers to pressure their leaders to protect civilians in Gaza.
“Adidas” stated in a statement that the campaign for the “SL72” model “unites a wide range of partners”.
“We are aware that links have been made to tragic historical events – although these are completely unintentional – and apologize for any distress or painful memories. Because of this, we will revise the rest of the campaign.”
It is not specified what changes will be made. In addition to Bela Hadid, the faces of this campaign are the ambassadors of the Adidas brand, footballer Gilles Kunde, American rapper A$AP Nast and Chinese model Sabrina Lan.
Members of the Palestinian group Black September stormed the Olympic Village on September 5, 1972. Eleven members of the Israeli team who were taken hostage were killed.
This is not the first time that “Adidas” has cut ties with famous people due to accusations of anti-Semitism
The sportswear company ended its partnership with rapper Kanye West in October 2022, saying it “does not tolerate anti-Semitism,” after the rapper’s social media accounts were suspended for offensive posts.
Ivor: RTS
Photo by Edgar Chaparro, Unsplash
Source: www.advertiser-serbia.com
