German sportswear giant Adidas is changing an advertising campaign for the revival of a 1970s running shoe after a complaint from Israel.
The Israeli government criticized the choice of model Bella Hadid to present the campaign for the revived shoe, which was originally designed for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
The Munich Games were overshadowed by an attack in which Palestinian terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and officials.
In a post on the social media platform X, Israel accused Hadid, whose father is Palestinian, of spreading “blood libels and anti-Semitic conspiracies against Jews.”
Adidas did not specify what changes would be made to the campaign.
“We are aware that connections have been made to tragic historical events – even if completely unintentional – and we apologise for any upset or distress this may have caused,” the group said in a statement.
“For this reason, we are reviewing the campaign. We believe in sport as a unifying force across the world and will continue our efforts to promote diversity and equality in everything we do,” the statement added.
