Golda Meir was an amazing woman who made her mark on the world and the country of Israel. Born in Kiev, Russia, to Moshe and Bluma Mabovitch, Golda was born in 1898, and moved away from her native country very early. In 1905, her family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the Kiev pogrom. The Kiev pogrom was when over 100 Jews were killed in Russia. Later, in 1916, Golda attended Milwaukee Normal School for university. Her parents would have preferred that she got married, so as a problem solver she did both! She got married to Morris Meyerson, and together they moved to Israel (known as Palestine at that time). The couple had two kids, Sarah and Menachem Meir. In Jerusalem, Golda began to get involved in the Zionist union. Golda Meir is my hero because of her political involvement for the right of her people, and her personality of being a wise woman with strong leadership.

Golda Meir took much political action to make the change she wanted to see in the world. Throughout World War II, Golda became a speaker and innovator for the Zionist movement. Her goal was to save arrested Jews from persecution under the Hitler regime. In Palestine, England was in control of the land, so the British White Paper was arresting Jewish activists for taking a stand against what was happening in the world. Meir decided to become Chief of Liaison in order to work towards freeing Jewish activists and war refugees. After the war was over in 1945, Golda and many others decided that a Jewish homeland wasn’t only necessary, but crucial to the survival of all remaining Jews, so they began trying to develop the Zionist movement. Finally, in 1948 Golda was one of many to sign the Declaration of Independence of the state of Israel. Once the Arab governments and Israel began to build tension, Golda decided to actively become part of Israeli politics.  One of her jobs was being personally sent by the Prime Minister, David ben Gurion, disguised as an Arab spy to ask king Abdullah I of Jordan not to go to war with Israel, but the king refused, and declared war. This was later known as the Six Day War.  In 1956, Meir became Foreign Minister to help the country establish connections with the US, Africa, and Latin America. Once her term ended, she was ready to retire, but her political party urged her to run for Secretary General, so she took on another job. In 1969 Prime Minister Levi Eshkol died, and Meir took over the last two years of his term. When elections came back around Meir won to serve an additional 4 year term! During her term, she got President Nixon to aid Israel economically. Thanks to her dedication and hard work, the country had been able to keep peace with Arab countries from 1967 to 1973, but in 1973 war broke out for 19 days with Syria and Egypt in coalition. When Golda saw that the country wasn’t prepared for this type of attack, she found only herself at fault. If it hadn’t been for her, the country would have been ready to fight this war. As a result, she decided to step down and retire. She later died from leukemia on April 10, 1974 at 80 years old. Not only was  Golda  a strong leader, she was also an amazing woman with a fascinating life.

Golda Meir is my hero for a plethora of reasons. To begin with her entire life was dedicated to fighting for peace and what she believed in. She also proved that women can be anything they want to be. If they are strong minded and confident, nothing can stop them.  She had a loveable grandmother like appeal that drew everyone into her ideas. She was the only woman Foreign Minister in the world, and she didn’t believe in formalities. She gave pastries to guests served with a lecture about the security problems of Israel, she also ignored luxuries that came with her job. She flew tourist class like other people . At hotels she also washed her own clothes and shined her own shoes. She wasn’t a feminist in fact she disagreed that women could do everything, but she had some strong opinions that got out just fine. If there was an incident where women were harassed and some men said that having a curfew for women to avoid these incidents would be a good idea, she would reply the men are committing the crimes of harassment why not put a curfew on them. She also said, “I don’t think women are better than men, but they’re not worse.” These strong minded opinions were only a part of the charm that all politicians from kings to presidents enjoyed. She wasn’t afraid to give a piece of her mind to the president if she thought that it was the right thing to do. Throughout her life, Golda was a problem solver. She was able to identify a problem and quickly find a compromise. She found a way to keep peace with Arab countries for six years. Additionally, she didn’t wait for someone to blame her for the war or suggest to her that it might be time to retire. She accepted full responsibility. She decided that if she was able to make this mistake, then she was no longer fit for such an important role. A valuable lesson to learn from her life, and her personality is that being loyal, honest, and true to yourself can get you very far. She didn’t grow up integrated in politics. Her family was made up of Russian immigrants who had simple lives. She chose her own future while upholding a family, she kept her values close to her heart