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Cyclist not invited to Women's Day event due to previous Israeli military service

Cyclist not invited to Women's Day event due to previous Israeli military service

A famous cyclist was disinvited to speak at an international women's event because of her service in the Israeli army.

Leah Goldstein was invited to the March 8 event in August by INSPIRE, but was told last month that she would no longer be welcome, according to The Times of Israel.

Goldstein served in the Israeli military more than 30 years ago, which a “small but growing and extremely vocal group” disagreed with, leading to the cancellation.

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A Georgia high school teacher was arrested after allegedly threatening to cut off the head of a Muslim student who confronted him over an Israeli flag in his classroom. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“Our focus at INSPIRE has been and always will 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 INSPIRE board of directors will change our keynote speaker.”

The revoked invitation comes during the war between Israel and Hamas. INSPIRE said that Goldstein's critics pressured him to express his feelings about the war, but Goldstein thought it was “ridiculous” that he had to provide those thoughts to the group.

Goldstein says his speech would have stayed away from politics.

“I'm not political when I speak,” she said. “Honestly, there's nothing political about my presentation. I'm just talking about the shit I went through and the shit most women go through, and still do, and how I handled it.

“I didn't want to go down that path because that's not what I do. They didn't hire me because I was an IDF soldier. They hired me because I inspire. They motivate. They're making this political when it should be.” “It won't be. My presentation is not about war. It's about life.”

A bicycle was attacked and two young Palestinian militants were killed near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel on October 7, 2023, in Gaza. (Ahmad Hasaballah/Getty Images)

Martina Rosenberg, senior vice president of international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League, says Goldstein's rescinded invitation is “hurtful” and unethical.

“We are seeing more and more cases of Israeli speakers being disinvited simply because of their nationality or their service in the IDF,” Rosenberg said. “Let's be clear: boycotting Israeli speakers is harmful, contrary to freedom of expression and ultimately counterproductive. It fails to recognize the complexities of the situation.”

Goldstein was born in Vancouver but lived in Israel as a child and had Israeli citizenship because her parents were from there.