Golda Meir

Golda Meir (born Golda Mabovitz, May 3, 1898, died December 8, 1978, also known as Golda Myerson) was one of the founders of the State of Israel.

Meir served as the Minister of Labour, Foreign Minister, and then as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel from March 17, 1969, to June 31974. As the BBC put it, Golda Meir was the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics years before the epithet was coined for Margaret Thatcher.^[1] David Ben-Gurion once described her as "the only man in the Cabinet." She was the first (and, to date, only) female Prime Minister of Israel, and was the third female Prime Minister in the world^[2].

Early life

Meir was born Golda Mabovitz (Russian: Голда Мабовиц) in Kiev in the Russian Empire (today Ukraine), to Blume Naidtich and Moshe Mabovitz a lumberman. Golda wrote in her autobiography that her earliest memories were of her father boarding up the front door in response to rumors of an imminent pogrom. Living conditions in the Pale of Settlement were tough; she and her two sisters (Sheyna and Tzipke) were often hungry and cold. Her other five siblings had died in their childhood. Golda especially looked up to Sheyna. Her father left for the United States in 1903; the rest of the family stayed in Pinsk. Golda's older sister Sheyna was engaged in Zionist-Revolutionary activity, which endangered her. The family followed Moshe to the United States in 1906.

Emigration to the United States, 1906

The family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There, Golda's father worked as a carpenter, and her mother ran a grocery store. When Golda was only eight years old, she had to oversee the store for a short time each morning while her mother bought supplies at the market.

Golda Meir attended the Fourth Street School (now Golda Meir School) across from the Schlitz Brewing Complex from 1906 to 1912. It was here that Golda undertook her first public works project, by organizing a fundraiser to pay for her classmates' textbooks. After forming the American Young Sisters Society, she rented a hall and scheduled a public meeting for the event. Despite not having known English upon entry, Golda graduated as valedictorian of her class.

When Golda was 14, she began attending North Division High School and took part-time jobs to pay expenses. Her mother suggested that she give up school for work and marry. Golda rebelled and ran away to Denver, Colorado, where her older sister, Sheyna, was living. She stayed for about a year in a duplex at 1606 Julian Street. Golda attended North High School there and met Morris Meyerson, a sign painter, whom she would later marry.

In 1913, Golda returned to Milwaukee and re-enrolled at North Division, graduating in 1915. While there, she was an active member of the Zionist youth movement, Habonim (now Habonim Dror). She participated in public speaking at meetings and often advocated for Socialist Zionism in her speeches. Often she hosted visitors from Palestine.

Upon her graduation from the Milwaukee State Normal School (a predecessor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), she taught in public schools. She formally joined the Labour Zionist Organization in 1915.

Golda and Morris married in 1917 and began planning to make aliyah (emigration to the Land of Israel, then a part of the Ottoman Empire). The couple, together with Golda's elder sister Sheyna emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in 1921.

Emigration to Palestine, 1921

In 1921, Golda and her husband, Morris Myerson, emigrated to Palestine to help found a Jewish state. Golda and Morris wanted to join a kibbutz. She applied to join Kibbutz Merhavia and was turned down at first, but eventually was accepted into the community. Her duties there included picking almonds, planting trees, caring for chickens, and running the kitchen. She also began to emerge as a leader. Her kibbutz chose her to represent them at Histadrut, the General Federation of Labour. By 1924, her husband had grown tired of the kibbutz life, and the couple left.

They lived briefly in Tel Aviv, before settling in Jerusalem. There they had two children, son Menachem (1924) and daughter Sarah (1926). In 1928, Golda was elected secretary of the Women's Labour Council of Histadrut. This required her to move to Tel Aviv, but her husband stayed in Jerusalem while the children went with Golda to Tel Aviv. Morris and Golda grew apart but never divorced. Morris died in 1951.

She grew increasingly influential in Histadrut, which evolved into a shadow government for the yet-to-be-born nation of Israel. In 1946, the British cracked down on the Zionist movement in Palestine, arresting many of its leaders. Golda, however, was never arrested. She gradually took charge of the organization. She negotiated with the British, but also kept in contact with the growing guerrilla movement.

Israel established, 1948

Golda Meir was one of twenty-four people (and one of only two women) who signed the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948. She later recalled, "After I signed, I cried. When I studied American history as a schoolgirl and I read about those who signed the Declaration of Independence, I couldn't imagine these were real people doing something real. And there I was sitting down and signing a declaration of establishment."

The following day, Israel was attacked by joint forces from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, and Iraq. Golda was issued Israel's first passport ^[3][4] and went to the United States to raise money for the fledgling nation.

When she returned, she was assigned to be the first ambassador to the Soviet Union. She served there briefly, leaving in 1949. During her stay in Moscow, she attended high holiday services and was mobbed by thousands of Russian Jews chanting her name; Stalin's repression of Jewish identity in the Soviet Union made many observers wonder whether there was still a strong sense of community, but the crowd's welcoming treatment provided the answer. The picture on the back of Meir's Israeli shekel banknote is that of the crowd in Moscow surrounding her and lifting her in happiness. She then entered the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) as a member of Mapai, where she served continuously until 1974.

Political life prior to becoming Prime Minister

From 1949 to 1956, Meir was the Israeli Minister of Labor. In 1956, she became Foreign Minister under Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion. The previous Foreign Minister, Moshe Sharett, had ordered that all members of the foreign service Hebraicize their last names. Golda had ignored that order as ambassador, but now that she was becoming Foreign Minister herself, Ben-Gurion asked Golda to change her name to a Hebrew name. She chose Meir, meaning "makes a light."

In the early 1960s, Meir was diagnosed with lymphoma, which she concealed, concerned that others might deem her unfit for service. She resigned from the Cabinet in 1965, citing illness and exhaustion from her years of service. At first, she returned to her modest life, but was soon called back into service. She served as Secretary General of the newly-created Alignment for eight months and retired again on August 1, 1968.

Prime Minister

After Levi Eshkol died suddenly on February 26, 1969, the party chose Meir to succeed him as Prime Minister. Meir came out of retirement to take office on March 17 and would serve as Prime Minister until 1974. When Meir took office, Israel was brimming with confidence, having won a decisive victory over the Arabs and capturing large areas of territory in the Six Day War. Nonetheless, Meir had to deal with the continuing Egyptian shelling of Israeli forces along the Suez Canal in the War of Attrition.

Meyer Lansky

Seeking to avoid the US Justice Department, underworld kingpin Meyer Lansky applied for citizenship in Israel. According to reports, while his case was being presented to Prime MInister Meir, at the mention of the word "Mafia", Meir is said to have stopped the speaker, interjecting "Mafia? Mafia? No Mafia." Lansky would eventually end up back in the US to face charges.

Operation Wrath of God

Following the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games, Meir appealed to the world to "save our citizens and condemn the unspeakable criminal acts committed."[1] Meir and the Israeli Defense Committee felt that the world did not adequately respond and therefore authorized the Mossad to kill Black September and PFLP (Operation Bayonet) operatives wherever they could be found (Morris 1999). The 1986 TV film Sword of Gideon, based on the book Vengeance by George Jonas, and Steven Spielberg's subsequent movie Munich (2005) were loosely based on these events.

1973 Yom Kippur War

In the lead up to the Yom Kippur War, Israeli intelligence was not able to determine conclusively that an attack was imminent until the day before the war began. Six hours before the outbreak of hostilities, Meir met with Moshe Dayan and Israeli general David Elazar. While Dayan continued to argue that war was unlikely, Elazar advocated launching a pre-emptive strike on Syrian forces.

Meir believed that Israel could not depend on European countries to supply Israel with military equipment as European countries were under the threat of an Arab oil embargo and trade boycott, and that as a result, the only country who could come to Israel's assistance would be the United States. Fearing that the U. S. would be wary of intervening if Israel were perceived as initiating the hostilities, Meir finally decided against launching a pre-emptive strike. In hindsight, this was apparently a wise decision; then-U. S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger would later confirm Meir's assessment by stating that if Israel had launched a pre-emptive strike, Israel would not have received "so much as a nail." Meir's decision may have been crucial in making Operation Nickel Grass politically feasible for the United States.

Resignation

Following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Meir's government was distracted by internal squabbles among the governing coalition and had to face serious questions over strategic misjudgments as well as the general lack of leadership that resulted in inadequate preparedness at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War. On April 11, 1974, Golda Meir resigned as prime minister and was succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin on June 3, 1974.

On December 8, 1978, Golda Meir died of cancer in Jerusalem at the age of 80. She is buried on Mount Herzl, in Jerusalem on December 12, 1978.

Portrayals

Golda Meir's story has been the subject of many fictionalized portrayals over the years. She has been portrayed by actresses as diverse as the late Swede Ingrid Bergman and the Australian Judy Davis in the television film A Woman Called Golda (1982), and the Jewish-American Tovah Feldshuh on Broadway. The Broadway show about her was mildly controversial in that it improbably suggested that Meir considered using nuclear armaments during the Yom Kippur War. In 1977 she was portrayed by Anne Bancroft on Broadway in William Gibson's play Golda.

Most recently, she was played by actress Lynn Cohen in Steven Spielberg's 2005 film Munich. She is also portrayed by Valerie Harper in William Gibson's play Golda's Balcony, touring various North American cities in 2005 and 2006.

Notes

1. ^ Golda Meir, a BBC News profile.
2. ^ Female Prime Ministers before Golda Meir were Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka and Indira Gandhi of India.
3. ^ Golda (Emery/Weiner School)
4. ^ Golda Meir’s life was devoted to building Zionism by Dan Pine (Jewish SF, July 15, 2005)

Miscellaneous

• Meir is the only former American citizen to become Prime Minister of Israel. (Benjamin Netanyahu was never an American citizen; his family moved to the United States from Israel in his early teens, and he moved back to Israel after completing graduate school.)

• Meir was the first female head of state, or head of government, to oversee the development of a nuclear weapons program. She was later followed by Indira Gandhi and Benazir Bhutto.

See also

• Evian Conference
• Golda's Balcony

References

News articles

• "Golda Meir: Peace and Arab Acceptance Were Goals of Her 5 Years as Premier", New York Times, 1978-12-09.

Biographies

• Agres, Elijahu (1969). Golda Meir: Portrait of a Prime Minister. Sabra Books. ISBN 0-87631-020-X. 
• Fallaci, Oriana (1976). Interview With History. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-25223-7. 
• Martin, Ralph G. (1988). Golda Meir: The Romantic Years. Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-0536-7. 
• Meir, Golda (1975). My Life. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-11669-9. 
• Meir, Menahem (1983). My Mother Golda Meir: A Son's Evocation of Life With Golda Meir. Arbor House Pub. Co.. ISBN 0-87795-415-1. 
• Morris, B. (1999, 2001). Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab conflict, 1881–2000. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-74475-4. 
• Syrkin, Marie (1969). Golda Meir: Israel's Leader. Putnam. ASIN B0006CPEIU. 

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