Childhood
During her adolescence, Golda Meir met two young Jews whom the Turks had banished from Palestine, David Ben Gurion(Green) and Yitzhak Ben Tzvi. They had come to North America to find young volunteers who would fight along with the British to free the land Israel from Turkish rule. They spoke about Kibbutz, and talked about pioneer life in Israel. Ben Tzvi mentioned his friend Rachel Yanait; Golda saw in this woman a perfect example of someone who was both a pioneer and a fighter - someone on equal terms with men. She decided to dedicate her life to Zionism, and wanted the Jews to have a country for themselves. She spoke at gatherings, arranged presentations, and raised money. At 17, she wrote to her friend Morris Myerson: "I know that you are not as interested as I am in living in Eretz Yisrael, but I ask that you come with me anyway." Morris agreed, and at the age of 19, they married.
In 1921, during the period of the Third Aliya, Golda and Morris moved to Eretz Yisrael, and settled in Kibbutz Merchavia. "Life in Merchavia was hard" she remembers. "There was very little to eat, and what there was had an awful taste: sour porridge, rancid oil, and salty fish. The pioneers lived in huts, and the washrooms and showers were outside, far from the huts. It was especially hard for people to get to the washrooms when they were sick with malaria and had a high fever." Despite everything, Golda was happy. However, Morris found it more difficult, and they left the kibbutz for Tel-Aviv, and afterwards to Jerusalem. They had two children. Golda decided to work for the Histadrut, an organization that looked after workers. It helped them find work, and provided them with health services and education for their children. The Histadrut was the biggest and strongest organization of the Jewish community in the years before the establishment of the State. During the War of Independence, Ben Gurion sent Golda Meir to America to raise money. Golda met with thousands of Jews and spoke with emotion about the Arab attacks, and about how the Jews were fighting for a state for the Jewish people. She collected fifty million dollars, which was used for purchasing weapons for the war effort.
Ben Gurion later said that the Jewish people owe an immeasurable debt to this special woman. She was chosen by Ben Gurion as labour minister in his first cabinet, and became foreign minister in 1956. In that capacity, Meir built ties with the new countries that had come into being in Asia and Africa.
In 1969, Levi Eshkol died, and Meir, then 69, became Prime Minister. During her five year tenure, in 1973, the Yom Kippur War took place. The attack by Egypt and Syria caught Israel by surprise, and only through truly heroic fighting did Israel manage to win. Nevertheless, thousands of soldiers died or were wounded. A few months later, Golda Meir resigned. She was the first and only female Prime Minister of Israel; a strong leader, she believed in her own way of doing things. Many around the world considered her the "mother" of the Jewish people. She died at age 80, and is buried in Jerusalem's Mount Herzl cemetery.
Questions:
1. Why did Golda move to America?
2. Why did David Ben Gurion and Yitzhak Ben Tzvi come to
4. Describe life in Israel during the time of the Third Aliya.
5. How did Golda help the Jews living in Israel?6. Describe Golda as Prime Minister.
Divide the class into groups, and instruct each group to prepare a skit about a specific part of Golda Meir's life. They should try to imagine feelings, events, etc. that are not found in the text, and include them in their presentations.
Editorial Board:
Batia Betman, Dr. Yigal Donyets, Miri Flakowicz, Hanna Eliashiv, Yocheved Sonenberg, Ida Kalisky, Ora Rubenstein, Carmela Aigen, Dr. Uri Korin
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