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Golda Meir (pronounced gol-da meh-ee-ur) (May 3, 1898 - December 8, 1978) was a founder of the State of Israel. She served as the Minister of Labor, Foreign Minister, and as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel from March 17, 1969 to 1974.
Golda Mabovitz was born in Kiev, Russia (now in Ukraine). Her earliest memories were of her father boarding up the front door in response to rumors of a pogrom. Her life there was tough, she and her two sisters were often hungry and cold. Her father left for the United States in 1903, and the rest of the family followed in 1906.
Her father worked as a carpenter in Milwaukee and her mother ran a grocery store. Beginning when she was only eight years old, Golda oversaw the store for a short time each morning as her mother was buying supplies a t the market.
When she was 14, her mother suggested that she give up school for work and to marry an older man. Golda rebelled and ran away. She went to Denver, where her older sister, Sheyna, was living. Here she met Morris Myerson, a sign painter, who would later become her husband.
She returned to Milwaukee at the urging of her father when she was 18. She began speaking and advocating socialism and Zionism. She hosted visitors from Palestine.
She eventually graduated from teachers' college and taught in the public schools. She joined the Poale Zion (Labor Zionist Organization) in 1915. She married Morris Myerson in 1917 and began planning to emigrate to Palestine. She emigrated to Palestine with her husband, Morris Myerson, and her sister Sheyna in 1921.
She and her husband wanted to join a kibbutz. She applied to applied to join Kibbutz Merhavia and was turned down at first, but eventually 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 Labor. By 1924, her husband tired of the kibbutz life and they left.
They lived briefly in Tel Aviv, before settling in Jerusalem. Here they had two children a son, Menachem, and a daughter, Sarah. In 1928 she was elected secretary of the women's labor council of Histadrut. This required her to move to Tel Aviv, but her husband stayed in Jerusalem. They grew apart. The children stayed with her. Her husband died in 1951, Golda was away travelling at the time.
She grew increasingly more influential in Histadrut, which evolved into a shoadow governement for the yet to be born nation of Israel. In 1946, the British cracked down on the Zionist movement in Palestine. They arrested many of its leaders. Golda, however, was never arrested. She began running things for the organization. She negotiated with the British, but also kept in contact with the growing guerrilla movement.
She, along with 24 others, 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 independence."
Her joy was short lived. The following day, Israel was attacked by a combination of forces from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan and Iraq. She was issued Israel's first passport and sent to the United States to raise money for the fledging nation.
When she returned, she was assigned to be the first minister to the Soviet Union. She served there briefly, leaving in 1949. She then entered the Israeli Parliament where she served continuosly until 1974.
From 1949 to 1956, she was also the Isreali Minister of Labor. In 1956, she became Foreign Minister. While she was the Foreign Minister, David Ben-Gurion was the prime minister. He asked Gold to change her name to a Hebrew name. She chose Meir, meaning to burn brightly.
In 1965, she resigned from the Cabinet citing illness and exhaustion of her years of service. At first, she returned to her modest life. But she was soon called back into service. She became the Secretary General of the Labor Party.
When Levi Eshkol died in 1969, the party chose her to succeed him as Prime Minister. She served in that role frmo 1969 to 1974. Her government was clouded by internal squabbles among the governing coalition, and serious questions over strategic misjudgments and general lack of leadership that resulted in the unanticipated Yom Kippur War. In 1974, Golda Meir resigned leadership, to be succeeded by Yitzhak Rabin.
Golda Meir died in Jerusalem and was buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
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