Caitlyn Jenner to Give Speech Praising Israel in March

Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender woman formerly known as Bruce Jenner, will deliver a speech at a pro-Israel gala in March, praising Israel’s human rights record and specifically its tolerance toward transgender individuals.

Jenner is to receive the “Champion of Israel and LGBTQ Rights Award” at the annual awards dinner of the World Values Network, a non-profit organization run by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. (Rabbi Boteach is a Breitbart News contributor.)

In a statement, the World Values Network said:

The World Values Network is honored to announce the presence of television personality and Olympic gold medal-winning decathlete Caitlyn Jenner at our Sixth Annual Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala, which will be held on March 8th, 2018 in New York City’s Plaza Hotel.

Having already summited the spheres of athletics and entertainment, Caitlyn became one of the foremost exponents of LGBTQ rights in the world today and has become a cultural icon. Widely considered the most famous openly transgender woman on earth, she is also a sincere supporter of the State of Israel, which has always been a world leader in securing the rights and wellbeing of people of all identities. In a region where discrimination, persecution, and even execution are daily realities for LGBTQ communities and individuals, Israel’s message of liberty and tolerance must be desperately heeded.

For years, Israel’s military has served as a model for transgender soldiers to serve. In 1993, Israel became one of the first countries on earth to protect the rights of transgender soldiers, providing them with the constitutional right to a full and unhindered service. Today, the Jewish State is one of only eighteen nations on earth whose armies allow transgender individuals to serve.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach added: “Israel is a bastion of global human rights, the fact which we will be celebrating on this Israel’s 70th anniversary. Caitlyn Jenner, a great friend of the Jewish people and Israel, is uniquely suited to highlight Israel’s incredible record on LGBTQ rights and protection to the LGBTQ citizens which of course is utterly unique and unprecedented in the Middle East. I believe her remarks will have a global impact.”

Jenner, who came out as a political conservative when she came out as a woman, voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but has since been critical of his stances on transgender issues.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named to Forward’s 50 “most influential” Jews in 2017. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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