Persons of Historical Interest: Golda Meir
Although Canadian, I had the adventure of growing up from the age of 8 in New York City and Pennsylvania. While living in New York, 95% of my public school classmates were Jewish. As Israel was being established as a nation, especially after the 1967 six-day war, there was a name I often heard among my Jewish friends: Golda Meir. When she became Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, her prominence rose to a new level. Her life is a story of courage and heroism in birthing a new nation.
Hers was a fascinating life. Born right here in Kyiv (where I am writing this from) in 1898, one of her first memories was that of her father boarding up the family home with them inside in preparation for one of the common pogroms of the Jewish people. The movie, Fiddler on the Roof, gives a visual insight into what that was like for those living in this area at that time period. To avoid the ongoing Jewish persecution in what was then the Czar's Russian empire, her family eventually moved to the U.S. where she was educated. Having memories of Jewish persecution, she became interested in Zionism, the idea of establishing a safe home for Jewish people in what was then called Palestine. Her passion for eventually moving to Palestine is seen in that settling in Palestine was a pre-condition for any man interested in marrying her. Not a very attractive feature for a fun-loving American guy.
She seemed to have a gift of fund-raising. As a young school girl in Milwaukee, she raised money for school books for girls in her class who couldn't afford the necessary books. As her zeal for a state of Israel grew, she became one of the most effective voices for financially supporting a new state.
One of the great historical tragedies of the 20th century was the Evian conference held in France in 1938. Called by President Franklin Roosevelt, who did not attend the conference, thirty-two nations assembled to discuss what to do about the increasing number of Jewish refugees from Hitler's rising Nazi regime. Golda Meir was in attendance and listened to nation after nation expressing sympathy with the Jewish plight but then not willing to increase immigration quotas to their countries. The only exception was the Dominican Republic, which made room for 100,000. Golda wrote about it many years later:
"Sitting there in that magnificent hall and listening to the delegates of 32 countries rise, each in turn, to explain how much they would have liked to take in substantial numbers of refugees, and how unfortunate it was that they were not able to do so, was a terrible experience." We all know the horrid results of those decisions.
She became known as the Iron Lady before Margaret Thatcher was on the scene. In that era, it was still unusual for women to be front and centre in political leadership. In 1969, she was elected Prime Minister of Israel and was severely criticized by many for not being prepared for the 1973 Yom Kippur war.
Golda was an atheist. She declared, "I believe in the Jewish people and the Jewish people believe in God." Her love was the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
She was a heavy smoker for most of her life. I have seen a number of documentaries of her life and career, and it is very seldom that a cigarette is not nearby. This caused her heart problems for most of her later years. She died at eighty.
There are a number of fascinating books and documentaries available regarding Golda Meir's life. There is much to learn from her life and journeys, especially in these difficult days in the Middle East.
Dan Slade
