This week Palestinians will memorialize the starting point of their plight as a stateless people, observing the Nakba, literally “the catastrophe” in Arabic. This year the athletic retailer Reebok was planning a special commemorative sneaker for Israel and its 68th independence in blue and white with “Israel 68” on the sole. But now Reebok is now distancing itself from the Israel shoe. It said in a statement today the footwear was “prepared by an independent designer and should not be presented as a product by the company’s international brand.”