Golda Meir and America (1898 - 1974)

Who would dream that, at the age of 70, Golda Meir would become the fourth Prime Minister of the State of Israel, and the third woman in the 20th Century to emerge as a leader of a nation? Beyond that, Golda became twice an immigrant to new lands. A fact that continually reminds us that leadership often emerges from the most unlikely places, but always with a reason.

"If there is any explanation for the direction which my life has taken," Golda would often say, "it was the desire and determination to save Jewish children from a similar experience." It was an experience Golda knew well, for she had witnessed, at the age of four, the anti-Jewish violence in Czarist Russia called pogroms. With fear in her heart, she had watched her father nail boards across a door in Kiev to keep out the terrible thing that was going to happen to them simply because they were Jewish. As young as she was, Golda knew that her life would be dedicated to the survival of her people. Someday there would be a place where Jews could live without fear.

On May 14, 1948, the leaders of the young State of Israel met to sign the Declaration of Independence. Golda listened as David Ben Gurion read out the Declaration, and when he came to "the State of Israel will be open to Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles," Golda wept tears of joy. Her dream of a Jewish homeland had become a reality. From that time forward, a Jewish child has never known the fear of a pogrom.

Golda could not speak English when she was enrolled in Milwaukee Wisconsin's Fourth Street School (now Golda Meir School), but, being a bright child, she quickly adapted to her new surroundings. Golda and her family were Zionists, which meant they believed in the establishment of a national Jewish Homeland in Palestine. Their home was always open to the young Zionists, Socialists and Anarchists who were traveling throughout the United States gaining support for their belief in a Jewish homeland. Around the kitchen table they spoke of Palestine and how they were building a communal settlement there, called a kibbutz. They told of how they were clearing the fields, planting the trees and sharing the work. They encouraged her to join them. As a Zionist, she knew that was where she belonged. She would go to Palestine.

In America, Golda had learned the meaning of Democracy. In America, she had the freedom to speak out on subjects that would have landed her in a Russian jail. In America, it was okay to be Jewish, and to be safe and free of fear. In America, she was given the opportunity of a good education. Golda would take those freedoms and opportunities with her to her newly adopted land. With those ideals in mind, she would bring the spirit of America to her newly adopted country.

Golda was determined to live on a kibbutz, but this time she had someone who wasn't particularly ready for the same experience. Her new husband, Morris Myerson, wasn't a Zionist and wasn't particularly anxious to build a homeland, but he loved Golda and agreed to go with her to Palestine. Golda fell in love with the Kibbutz Merhavia and was determined to spend the rest of her life there. Unfortunately she was forced to leave when Morris was diagnosed with malaria. Golda had no alternative; she followed Morris to Jerusalem where her two children were born. Her children brought joy to Golda's life, but as for the rest of those years, she was miserable.

During her time on the Kibbutz, Golda had become active in the politics of the Yishuv (the Jewish part of Palestine). People were beginning to recognize the strength of this young American woman. She spent months at a time in the United States, fundraising and giving speeches. When there wasn't enough money to buy planes, tanks and guns in order to protect the country, Golda was sent to America to try to raise 25 million dollars. She raised 50 million, and David Ben Gurion was heard to say," When history will be written, it will be said that it was a Jewish woman who got the money to make the state possible."

When Golda became Prime Minister, she had already been diagnosed with leukemia, and suffered from migraine headaches and phlebitis, yet she persevered. With the first official passport from the State of Israel in her hands, Golda flew to the Soviet Union to serve as the first Minister from Israel. Elected to Israel's Parliament (Knesset), she served as Minister of Labor and went on to become the second Foreign Minister of Israel. At that time, she took the Hebrew name of Meir, which means to illuminate. The Yom Kippur War was the greatest crisis of her life. Although she felt that Egypt and Syria might be planning an attack, she accepted the reassurances of her military leaders and held off mobilizing the reserves. Lives were lost, people were angry, and the cost was staggering. Golda blamed herself. "I shall live with that terrible knowledge for the rest of my life," she wrote in her autobiography.

When Golda's life ended at the age of 80, Walter Cronkite said: "She lived a life under pressure that we, in this country, would find impossible to understand. She was the strongest woman to head a government in our time and for a long time past."