Jewish cyclist says she was removed from International Women's Day event: 'Why am I excluded?'
Leah Goldstein, a Jewish cyclist and former IDF soldier, tells 'Fox & Friends First' she was removed as the keynote speaker for an International Women's Day event.
A Jewish cyclist disinvited as the keynote speaker for an International Women’s Day event due to her previous Israeli military service alleges there was more to her dismissal than meets the eye.
"The question is… what about other Jewish women that want to come to this conference? Are they also excluded?" she asked Thursday on "Fox & Friends First."
"Another question is, if I was a Palestinian woman, would I also be removed? And, as a Jewish woman, let me just add that I wouldn't feel offended listening to a Palestinian woman talk about her life experiences and stuff that she had gone through, so why am I excluded from this? But it is simply because I'm Jewish. The IDF is just an excuse."
Champion cyclist Leah Goldstein was removed as the keynote speaker at an International Women's Day event. (Fox & Friends First/iStock)
Goldstein, a Race Across America champion and former world kickboxing champion, was born in Canada but raised in Israel.
She served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) over 30 years ago, but event organizers claimed that service prompted a "a small but growing and extremely vocal group" to challenge her role in the event, according to The Times of Israel.
Critics pressed for her opinion on the current conflict underway in the Middle East, but she thought providing such comments to the group was "ridiculous."
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Goldstein served in the Israel Defense Forces over 30 years ago. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
"Our focus at INSPIRE has been and will always be to create safe spaces to honor, share, and celebrate the remarkable stories of women and non-binary individuals," the women's empowerment group said in a statement.
"In recognition of the current situation and the sensitivity of the conflict in the Middle East, the board of INSPIRE will be changing our keynote speaker."
The rescinded invitation follows months-long turmoil between Israel and Hamas, spawned by unprecedented attacks on Israeli residential areas last October.
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In a number of Western nations where the event was slated to take place – including Canada – different kinds of chaos ensued as supporters of either side clashed. Tensions remain high months after the conflict took center stage in the media.
Goldstein, meanwhile, argues her presentations have never offended anyone, and that her goal was to stay away from politics.
"My presentation has nothing to do with politics. I've been speaking for 11 years and not one time has anyone ever come up to me saying, ‘You know what? There was something you said that offended me’. Not to me, not to the bureau that I work for, not anonymously, and here I am, just being removed simply because I served in the IDF over 30 years ago."
"It was quite shocking to say the least," she said.
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