The “Israel 68” special edition sneaker from Reebok

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions activists welcomed Reebok’s decision to withdraw plans to release running shoes celebrating Israel’s 68th independence. 

The special edition shoes, dubbed “Israel 68”, were set to be auctioned on Reebok’s Facebook page during the Israeli national holiday, according to the Jerusalem Post. 

The plans were met with criticism from Palestinian advocates. 

The Electronic Intifada’s Ali Abunimah wrote a column titled, “Reebok tramples on Palestinians with ‘Israel 68’ sneaker.”

“At a time when other international companies, including Orange and Veolia, are fleeing from Israel because of the reputational damage of doing business with a major human rights abuser, it is daring for Reebok and its parent Adidas to so closely associate their products with Israel’s blood-soaked past and present,” Abunimah wrote.

But Reebok, which is owned by the German sportswear maker Adidas, was quick to cancel the release of the shoes. 

“Reebok would like to distance itself from the shoe,” the company told The Electronic Intifada in an emailed statement. “The shoe was a one-off initiative from one of our consumers. We do not support this initiative.”