アディダス、広告から親パレスチナ派モデル外す　イスラエルが批判

【ベルリンＡＦＰ＝時事】独スポーツ用品大手アディダスは１９日、親パレスチナ派の米国人のスーパーモデル、ベラ・ハディッドさんを１９７２年のミュンヘン五輪にちなんだレトロなスニーカーの広告から外したことを明らかにした。（写真はスーパーモデルのベラ・ハディッドさん）
　ミュンヘン五輪では、パレスチナの過激派組織「黒い九月」が選手村のイスラエル選手団宿舎を襲撃し、選手ら１１人を殺害。警察官１人も死亡した。
　アディダスは、クラシックモデルの復刻シリーズの一つとして、１９７２年のミュンヘン五輪で初めて使用されたシューズ「ＳＬ７２」を販売を開始したばかり。ハディッドさんを起用していた広告では、このスニーカーが１９７２年に発売されたと紹介されているが、イスラエル選手団襲撃事件については全く触れられていない。
　ハディッドさんは米国生まれだが、父親はパレスチナ人。昨年１０月７日のイスラム組織ハマスによる越境攻撃を受けてイスラエルがパレスチナ自治区ガザ地区への攻撃を開始して以降、パレスチナの権利を支持すると声高に訴えてきた。
　アディダスは、ハディッドさんを起用していた広告を直ちに見直すと発表。「過去の悲劇的な出来事との関連性は認識しているが、全く意図していないものだ。不快な思いをさせ、苦痛を与えた方々に謝罪する」と表明した。
　同社の広報は、ハディッドさんが広告から外されたことを認めた。
　在独イスラエル大使館は１８日、Ｘ（旧ツイッター）に、「広告の顔は誰だと思う？ ベラ・ハディッドだ。彼女はパレスチナにルーツを持つモデルで、これまで反ユダヤ主義を広め、イスラエル人やユダヤ人に対する暴力を扇動してきた」と投稿した。
　イスラエルのロン・プロソル駐独大使も１９日、ドイツメディアに対し、「アディダスは、よくもいまさら『全く意図していない』と主張できるものだ」と非難。「１９７２年の（ミュンヘン五輪での）テロは、ドイツ人とイスラエル人の集団的記憶に刻まれている」と主張した。
　一方でＳＮＳには、ハディッドさんへの支持を表明する声や、アディダスがハディッドさんを広告から外したことへの批判、アディダス製品の不買運動を呼び掛ける投稿も殺到している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/22-17:01）

Adidas said Friday it had dropped vocal pro-Palestinian model Bella Hadid from an advertising campaign for retro sneakers referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, which were overshadowed by a massacre of Israeli athletes.
The German sportswear giant recently relaunched the SL72, a shoe first showcased by athletes at the 1972 Olympics, as part of a series reviving old classic sneakers.
Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed at the 1972 Munich Games after gunmen from the Palestinian Black September group broke into the Olympic village and took them hostage.
Hadid, who was born in the US but has Palestinian roots through her father, has been vocal about her support for Palestinian rights since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 triggered the war in Gaza.
Adidas said it would be revising the remainder of the campaign with immediate effect.
We are conscious that connections have been made to tragic historical events -- though these are completely unintentional -- and we apologise for any upset or distress caused, the company said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.
- 'Collective memory' -
A spokeswoman confirmed that Hadid had been removed from the campaign, which notes that the shoes were first introduced in 1972 but never mentions the terror attack on the Israeli athletes.
Pictures of the American model wearing the retro Adidas shoes had caused an outcry among pro-Israeli groups.
Guess who the face of the campaign is? Bella Hadid, a model with Palestinian roots who has spread anti-Semitism in the past and incited violence against Israelis and Jews, the Israeli embassy in Germany wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
How can Adidas now claim that the reference (to the events in Munich) was 'completely unintentional'? Ron Prosor, Israel's ambassador to Germany, said in response to the company's climbdown.
The terror of 1972 is etched into the collective memory of Germans and Israelis, he told Die Welt TV on Friday.
A flood of social media posts meanwhile expressed support for Hadid, criticised Adidas for axing the model, and called for a boycott of the company.
- Pro-Palestinian demonstrations -
The Gaza war was triggered by the October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel's military retaliation to wipe out Hamas has killed at least 38,848 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
Hadid has taken part in several pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the conflict and has described Israel's offensive as a genocide.
In 2021, Hadid, her sister Gigi Hadid and singer Dua Lipa were described as anti-Semitic in an advertisement published in The New York Times by a Jewish group called the World Values Network.
Adidas said it would be continuing the SL72 campaign with other famous faces including footballer Jules Kounde, singer Melissa Bon and model Sabrina Lan.
In late 2022, Adidas ended its contract with the US rapper now known formally as Ye after he triggered an outcry with a series of anti-Semitic social media posts.
Germany's response to the Hamas attack and ensuing war has been driven by guilt over its own dark past, and the slaughter of six million Jews by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
The country has steadfastly backed Israel in the conflict, but its unwavering stance has led to claims that Palestinian voices are being marginalised.