A renowned Vernon professional cyclist says she was “hurt, angry” and “heartbroken” after her invitation to be a keynote speaker at an International Women’s Day festival in Ontario was cancelled due to her past service in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
It’s a move that Leah Goldstein said felt like “a sick joke,” given that organizers admitted they were responding to pushback from “a small group” of protesters and that Goldstein, a Canadian-Israeli dual citizen, hadn’t served with the IDF since 30 years ago, in a training aspect rather than combat capacity.