Reebok has canceled its plan to release a special edition sneaker to be sold on Israel's so-called "Independence Day," branded with the words "Israel 68" on the heel.
“Reebok would like to distance itself from the shoe,” Reebok told The Electronic Intifada in an email on Tuesday. “The shoe was a one-off initiative from one of our consumers. We do not support this initiative.”
The shoe was meant to be sold in an auction to take place on the Reebok Facebook page on the evening of May 11, in celebration of the day Israel became internationally recognized as an independent state.
What may be a celebration for Israel is a day of grief for Palestinians all around the world – as it marks Nakba (Catastrophe) Day. During the 1948 Palestinian war, 700,000 Palestinians either fled the country or were expelled from their homes, while hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed.
When the area became internationally recognized as Israel by the United Nations, Palestinians in that area became refugees in their own hometown, with many others taking refuge in other parts of the Arab world including Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
With movements against the Israeli occupation such as BDS, Reebok surely did not want to risk losing much of the Middle Eastern and a big portion of the international market by releasing the special edition shoe.
