Golda Meir (Israel): biography, family, political career

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

In the article we will talk about Golda Meir, who was a political and statesman of Israel, as well as the prime minister of this state. We will look at the career and life path of this woman, and also try to understand the political upheavals that happened in her life.

Family and childhood

Let's start considering the biography of Golda Meir from the birth of a girl in Kyiv. She was born into a rather poor and impoverished Jewish family, where there were already seven children. Five of them died in infancy, only Golda and her two sisters Clara and Shayna survived.

Father Moses at that time worked as a carpenter, and his mother was a nurse for the children of rich women. As we know from history, the beginning of the 20th century was a rather turbulent time, so Jewish pogroms took place with sad regularity in the Kyiv province. That is why people of this nationality could not feel safe in Russia. For this reason, in 1903 the family returned to Pinsk, a large city in Belarus, where the grandmother's house was located. Golds.

Growing up

In the same year, the father of the family leaves for America to work, because the family is in great need. After 3 years, the girl with her mother and sisters moved to her father in America.

Here they are located in the north of the country in the small town of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the fourth grade, the girl first showed her humanistic leadership inclinations. So, together with her friend Regina, she created the "Society of Young Sisters", which raised money to buy textbooks for poor and needy children.

Then little Golda gave a speech that impressed many adults who had gathered to give some donations and watch the children perform. It's incredible, but the money raised was really enough to buy books for all the children in need. At the same time, an article was published in the local newspaper about the chairman of the "Society of Young Sisters" in the person of Golda Meir. It was the first time in my life when it was printed in a newspaper.

Denver

In 1912, a girl graduates from high school and decides that she wants to be educated in Denver. She didn't even have money for a ticket, so she had to try herself as an English teacher for immigrants. She worked at a rate of 10 cents an hour.

Naturally, the parents were against the aspirations of Golda Meir, but nevertheless, the fourteen-year-old girl was determined. She managed to leave for Denver, and she left her parents only a note asking them not to worry.

Her older sister Sheina lived in this city with her husband and little daughter, so the girl could count on the support of her relatives. It should be noted that at that time there was a hospital for Jewish emigrants in the city, which was the only one in the whole country. There were also Zionists among the patients. This is important because the period of life that the girl spent in Denver influenced her views in the future.

There she met her husband Maurice Meyerson. Later, in her autobiography, Golda Meir wrote that long-term arguments had a strong influence on the formation of principled beliefs. However, the life of a girl at that time was not so sweet. Shane's sister mistook Golda for a child and was quite strict. Once there was a serious scandal, as a result of which Golda left her sister's house forever. She managed to find work in a small studio and rent a room with this money. After a while, she received a letter from her father, in which he wrote that if her mother was dear to her, then she should return immediately. Golda Meir could not do otherwise, so she returned to Milwaukee.

Zionist activity

In 1914, the girl returns to her parents. During this period, life gets better a little, because the father finds a permanent job, and Golda Meir's family manages to move to live in a new, more spacious and beautiful house. In the same place, the girl enters high school, which she graduates in 2 years. Then she enters the teacher's college in Milwaukee. At the age of 17, he joined the Poalei Zion organization. In December 1917marries Boris Meyerson, who fully shares his views.

The pre-Israeli period

In the period 1921-1923, a woman works in an agricultural commune. During this time, her husband becomes ill with malaria, causing Golda to quit her job. He finally recovers in 1924 and gets a job as an accountant in Jerusalem, which nevertheless pays rather meagerly.

The family finds a small house consisting of only two rooms, which does not even have electricity, and settles in it. In November 1924, the couple's boy Menachem is born, and two years later his sister Sarah appears.

In order to be able to pay for the house, Golda is washing someone else's clothes, which she washes in the trough. Her irrepressible desire for social action finally manifests itself in 1928, when she leads the women's branch of the Workers' Federation.

Golda Meir's biography continues with the fact that she holds various government positions and begins to travel for work. So, in 1949, she was elected to the Knesset, Israel's elected legislative body. In 1929, she was increasingly sent on international missions to other countries. In 1938, she served as an observer at the Evian Conference, where 32 parties participated and resolved issues of providing assistance to Jews who fled from the Hitler regime.

Golda Meir's political career

In May 1948, a woman signs the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Among the 38 people who signed it, there were only 2women - Golda and Rachel Cohen-Kogan. In her memoirs, the woman wrote that this day was very memorable for her, and she did not even believe that she had lived to see it. Nevertheless, she was clearly aware of the price that had to be paid for this. However, the very next day Israel was attacked by the combined armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. Thus began the two-year Arab-Israeli war.

As Ambassador

The young unstable state, which was attacked from all sides, needed a large number of weapons. It was the USSR that first recognized Israel as a separate country and it was the Soviet Union that became the supplier of weapons.

In the summer of 1948, Golda was sent as the ambassador of the USSR, and already in early September she was in Moscow. She served as ambassador only until March 1949, but even during this time she managed to prove herself.

So, I had a meeting with a whole crowd of Jews during a visit to the synagogue in Moscow. This meeting was received with incredible enthusiasm and is considered very important for the Jewish people. For example, Israeli banknotes of 10,000 shekels reflect this event.

As far as we know, Golda did not speak Russian, so when she was at a reception in the Kremlin, Polina Zhemchuzhina addressed her in Yiddish with the words: “I am a Jewish daughter.”

Golda Meir did a lot for Israel. So, even as an ambassador in Moscow, she contributed to the fact that the Jewish anti-fascist committee, several publishing houses and newspapers were closed, and unworthy people were arrested.figures of Jewish culture, their creations were confiscated from the library.

Promotion

The woman also held the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Golda Meir was in this position for 10 years, from 1956 to 1966. And before that, from 1949 to 1956, she served as Minister for Social Security and Labor.

As Prime Minister

In March 1969, a woman conquers a new official peak. This happens after the death of Levi Eshkol, who was the third prime minister. However, the rule was overshadowed by various conflicts and feuds that took place within the coalition, as well as serious disputes that did not stop in government circles.

The woman had to work on strategic mistakes and deal with the problem of a lack of leaders. And in the end, this led to failures in the Yom Kippur War, which is also called the 4th Arab-Israeli war. Therefore, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir stepped down, handing over leadership to her successor.

It should be noted that in 1972 there was a terrorist attack at the Munich Olympics, which was carried out by members of the Black September terrorist group. The operation killed 11 members of the Olympic team. After the perpetrators were apprehended and shot, Golda Meir ordered the Mossad to seek out and eliminate all those involved in this attack in one way or another.

Resignation

After Israel narrowly won the Yom Kippur War, the Meir political party was stillleading in the country. However, the strongest wave of public dissatisfaction with huge military losses followed, which was supported by artificial conflicts within the party. All this led to the creation of a new coalition government, which forced Meir to resign.

So, in April 1974, the entire cabinet of ministers, headed by Golda, resigned. The woman's successor was Yitzhak Rabin. This is how her political career ended.

Last years of life

A woman died of lymphoma in the winter of 1978. It happened in Israel. The grave of Golda Meir on Mount Herzl is still a place where not only relatives, but also ordinary people come, who still appreciate the huge contribution made by this woman to the development of Israel. It should be noted that a monument was erected to her in New York.

Memory

Golda is mentioned in two songs by the Russian poet Vladimir Vysotsky. Also in 1982, the feature film A Woman Called Golda was released in the UK. In it, the main role was played by Ingrid Bergman, a talented Swedish actress, for whom the role of an Israeli warrior was the last in her life.

In 1986, the film "Gideon's Sword" was released, which told about the destruction of terrorists from the Black September group. The role of Meir was played by Canadian actress Colleen Dewhurst. In 2005, the world saw the film "Munich" directed by Steven Spielberg, where Lynn Cohen acted as Golda.

It is also known that the woman wrote a memoir"My life". Golda Meir tried to frankly tell the story of her life, which is very closely intertwined with Israel and its fate. We strongly recommend that you read this work if you are interested in this topic, because the story told by Meir will impress you and remain in your heart forever.

Interesting

• Golda herself said that she never chose her career, everything happened by itself. That is exactly what she wrote in her biography.
• For her character and violent impulses, the woman was called the Jewish Joan of Arc.
• The woman changed her surname Meyerson to Meir, thus Hebrewizing her. Literally, "meir" means emitting light. Those who knew this woman said that she really radiated energy and could lead people.
• As prime minister, she was often reproached for using such methods of political struggle that tarnish Israel's reputation. To this, the woman always answered that she had two roads. The first is to die with dignity, and the second is to survive, but with a bad reputation. And she always chose the second one.
• Interestingly, the woman considered her age of 75 to be the most productive, because that's when she worked the most. She was already tormented by a migraine, she could not get to work on her own, so she worked at home. But her children were happy, because their mother was next to them. She was well aware that she did not pay enough attention to her kids. The children of Golda Meir did not receive maternal affection and attention, because their mother was the mother of the whole country. Nevertheless, Golda raised a worthy son and daughter.

The woman always said she had a very happy life. She believed that she did not see the birth of the Jewish state, but she took part in how Israel "absorbed" a huge number of Jews from all over the world.

Golda was often quoted because she liked to be short but to the point. So, she said that pessimism is a luxury that the Jewish people cannot afford. Humor was not alien to her. So, she argued that peace in the Middle East will reign only when the Arabs love their children more than they hate the Jews.

In her autobiography, she quotes the phrase that Moses led the people through the desert for 40 years in order to lead them to the only place where there is no oil.

Summarizing, we note that the life of this woman was very fast-paced, bright and risky. She was never afraid of obstacles, always boldly looked into their eyes and even challenged the whole world. She deserves to be remembered as a person who fought with all her heart and fought for the freedom of Israel.

Examples of the life of such people inspire and give hope that a person is really the blacksmith of his own happiness. Sometimes we underestimate our strength, believing that there is no point in fighting anymore. At such moments, it is worth remembering the people who, with their presence and actions, change the fate of entire states. Remember that each person is able to change not only his own life, but also the fate of thousands of people around the world!