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Adidas’ Olympics Campaign — With or Without Bella Hadid — Is a Disgrace to Israelis and Jews
Bella Hadid in a now-cancelled Adidas campaign for the brand’s remake of its SL 72 sneaker. Photo: Adidas
The decision makers at Adidas are either suffering from mental decline, incompetence, or the virus of antisemitism.
The German shoe company fired Bella Hadid — an anti-Israel model and social media influencer who has more than 61.3 million Instagram followers — from a campaign marking the 52nd anniversary of the 1972 Munich Olympics, and their shoes from that year.
Forget Hadid for a second.
On September 5, 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists from the group Black September posed as athletes, and took 11 Israeli athletes and coaches hostage, killing two on the scene, and the remaining nine in helicopters by grenade and by shooting them.
German forces refused requests to have an Israeli special unit come to try to save them, and then bungled their own operation. Ultimately, some German police officers weren’t willing to go through with the operation. What a surprise that Germans didn’t want to risk their life to save Jews.
While none of the 200+ prisoners the terrorists demanded to be released from Israeli jails were freed, in a press conference, a Palestinian terrorist said it was a success because the whole world was talking about their cause.
To make matters worse, initial press reports claimed the hostages were saved, only to later be corrected, as ABC’s Jim McKay said, “They’re all gone.”
The Olympics continued anyway, and Israel buried Moshe Weinberg, Yossef Romano, Ze’ev Friedman, David Berger, Yacov Springer, Eliezer Halfin, Yosef Guttfreund, Kehat Shorr, Mark Slavin, and Andre Spitzer.
In addition, the International Olympic Committee long rejected Israel’s request for a moment of silence for the athletes at the games in an open display of antisemitism.
For more horrific details about the attack, which were only released in the early 1990s, click here.
Why in the world is Adidas having any campaign to honor the 1972 Olympics, or the relaunch of its SL72 shoe line?
Furthermore, Hadid’s history of refusing to condemn Palestinian terrorism is disturbing.
She did not specially condemn Hamas for the massacre of October 7, but wrote that she condemned terrorist attacks on any civilians. Her father, Mohamed, was born in Nazareth in 1948, and the family is notorious for its anti-Israel activism.
Hadid has filed a lawsuit she may very well win against Adidas. The decision to hire Hadid (and fire her after complaints from Jews and others) is revolting, but the company, which cut ties with Kanye West after his antisemitic meltdown, has said it will in some way revamp the ad campaign.
Perhaps they will find Jamal al-Gashey, believed to be the only current surviving terrorist of the attack at the Munich Olympics, who appeared in the documentary One Day in September, to endorse the sneaker line.
The stupidity or malice of the ad with Hadid only causes more tension and hatred for Jews, if that is even possible at this point.
In 2022, Germany announced a payment of $28 million to families of the Israelis murdered in the 1972 attack, and last year, the government announced an international commission to “rigorously examine the period before and after” the attack — more than 50 years after it took place.
I guess Germans aren’t always punctual.
The author is a writer based in New York.
The post Adidas’ Olympics Campaign — With or Without Bella Hadid — Is a Disgrace to Israelis and Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.