Golda Meir, The Real Wonder Woman

Meet Golda: Introduction and Overview

March is Women’s History Month in the US, a time to pay homage to the women who made a noteworthy impact on history. There are many outstanding and worthy ladies to honor, and what better candidate to write about than the first female Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir? What can we learn from her life, passion, and leadership? 

She had a deep sense of loyalty and commitment. If something needed to be taken care of, her motto became, “Roll up your own sleeves and get the job done!” She led by example, lived by her motto and beliefs and inspired others to do the same. 

Golda was frequently referred to as “The Iron Lady” (of the Middle East) long before Margaret Thatcher (UK) was dubbed the same. She was also called a more kindly term, the “Lioness” because she loved and cared tenderly for the people of Israel like her cubs, and would also fiercely defend and protect them when threatened by enemy predators. What can we take away from this masterful iInfluencer and woman’s role model? 

The Early Years

Golda Mabovitch (later Myerson) was born on May 3, 1898 to Blume Neiditch and Moshe Mabovitch, a religious Jewish couple, who lived in downtown Kyiv, Russian Empire (present day Ukraine). She had an older sister Sheyna (1889-1972), and when Golda was four, her younger sister Tzipke was born (1902-1981). There were also five other siblings who died in childhood.

Blume, like most Jewish women in the Kyiv environs, was strong physically and emotionally, able to multitask the homestead and the children. Moshe was a carpenter by trade and worked very hard. He always wanted the best he could manage for his family. This was especially important to be able to survive all the pogroms (violent and murderous raids) against the Jews, which were unfortunately very common in Russia at that time. Golda’s earliest memory of her father was watching him board up the front door and windows for protection.

In 1903, Moshe decided he needed to get his family to safety and that meant immigrating to the United States where there was a promise of safety, money and freedom. He set sail for New York City. The rest of his family found some relief by relocating to Pinsk (Ukraine) with Blume’s family while they waited to join Moshe in the US. 

Moshe found it difficult to be able to save enough money to bring his family to America while living in New York. He heard about an excellent opportunity in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the railroad workshops. So in 1905 he headed out to Wisconsin and in one year succeeded in saving enough money to bring his family out of the Russian Empire and to the USA.  

In Golda’s memoirs, she attributes much of her positive work ethic to her father’s example and her mother’s dedication and tenacity. By the age of eight, Golda already exhibited a strong sense of responsibility. Her mother ran a grocery store in Milwaukee and when she needed to get supplies from the market, Golda was put in charge of minding the store.

Golda attended the Fourth Street School (now the Golda Meir School) from 1906 to 1912. Her leadership skills emerged when she discovered that many of her fellow students had trouble paying for their textbooks. In order to try to alleviate that burden, she organized a fundraiser and formed “The American Young Sisters Society”. Young Golda rented a hall, scheduled a public meeting for the event and gave a speech at that event. The people were very impressed with this well spoken and confident young girl and she raised more than enough to pay for every student’s textbooks as well as covering the costs of the event! This would be only the first of many successful fundraisers throughout her colorful career.

At age 14, Golda was in high school and working two part-time jobs at a local department store and the Public Library. She was an excellent student and was able to handle the demands of studies and work. She was saving money for the future because she wanted to go to college but her mother had other ideas – she wanted Golda to leave school, get married and start having children. Strong-willed and having her own dreams and aspirations, Golda refused her mother’s plan and decided to leave home. She took her savings and bought a train ticket to Denver, Colorado to stay with her married older sister, Sheyna Korngold.

The Education of Golda

While at the Korngold’s home, Golda sat in on evening parlor  meetings and intellectual discussions with friends and acquaintances, including her future husband, Morris Myerson. She was introduced to interesting and challenging topics and debates, such as Zionism, literature, women’s suffrage, and trade unions. In her autobiography, “My Life” (1975), Golda credits her time at her sister’s home in Denver as contributing significantly to shaping her own future convictions. She stayed in Denver for two years and then returned to Milwaukee to finish her schooling, with the goal of becoming a teacher. 

While in high school, Golda became an active member of “Young Poale Zion”, which later became known as “Habonim”- the Labor Zionist Youth Movement. She spoke at public meetings and embraced Socialist Zionism. 

After graduating from the local teachers’ college in 1917 with a teaching certificate, Golda accepted a position at a Yiddish speaking “Folks Shule” in Milwaukee where she  became more

Golda was one of the signatories of Israel’s Declaration of Independence. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, she continued to play a formative role in shaping Israel’s domestic and foreign policy.

In the early days of the State of Israel, Golda Meir embarked on a campaign to raise the $5 million which were needed by The Jewish Agency for defense. In typical Golda style, she far exceeded her goal. Instead of $5 milion, she raised $50 million, ensuring that Israel had the means not only to defend itself, but to survive. A commentator in a short video presentation related that she brought the money home in several suitcases on a plane, in one and five dollar bills .

In 1949, she was elected to the Knesset as Minister of Labor. While serving in this position, Golda carried out welfare state policies, oversaw the integration of immigrants into Israeli workforce, and introduced major housing and road construction, as well as helping to develop the National Insurance Act of 1954. 

In 1956, she became Foreign Minister under PrimeMinister David Ben-Gurion. The previous Foreign Minister asked all members of the foreign service to take a Hebrew surname, so Golda shortened her last name of Myerson/Meyerson to Meir.

Golda’s first month’s as F.M. coincided with the Suez Crisis, a diplomatic and military

confrontation in late 1956 involving Egypt, Britain, France and Israel. During United Nations debates about the crisis, Golda was in charge of the Israeli delegation. The three invading countries were forced to withdraw.

In the early 1960s, Golda was diagnosed with lymphoma. In January 1966, she retired from the Foreign Ministry due to exhaustion and ill health, but soon returned to public life as secretary-general of Mapai (an acronym for “Workers’ Party of the Land of Israel”, precursor to the Israeli Labor Party) supporting Prime Minister Levi Eshkol.

Madam Prime Minister

After Levi Eshkol’s sudden death in February 1969, Golda Meir was elected by the party to become his successor. She came out of retirement to assume office on March 17, 1969, making her Israel’s fourth Prime Minister and the first female. She served until 1974 when she retired once again. This time due to the results of the Yom Kippur War and her early hesitant decision making that cost a very large loss of life. She later said that this tragedy was her “deepest regret of her career” because she followed advice instead of her gut. 

Death

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