Golda Meir

==Government career before premiership==

=== Minister Plenipotentiary to the Soviet Union (1948–1949) ===
[[File:Golda Meir Moscow 1948.jpg|thumb|Meir surrounded by crowd of 50,000 Jews near [[Moscow Choral Synagogue]] on the first day of [[Rosh Hashanah]] in 1948. This image later appeared on the 1984 10,000-shekel banknote.]]
Meir served as minister plenipotentiary to the [[Soviet Union]] from 2 September 1948 to 10 March 1949.<ref name="Goldstein131">Yossi Goldstein, "Doomed to Fail: Golda Meir's Mission to Moscow (Part 1)", ''[[Israel Council on Foreign Relations|The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs]]'' Vol. 5 No. 3 (September 2011), p. 131</ref>

She was reportedly impatient with diplomatic niceties and using interpreters. She did not drink or ballroom dance and had little interest in gossip and fashion. According to her interpreter, when asked by a Russian ambassador how she traveled to Moscow, she responded "tell His Excellency the Ambassador that we arrived riding on donkeys".<ref name=":1" /> 

This was an important and difficult role. Good relations with the Soviet Union impacted Israel's ability to secure arms from Eastern European countries. In turn, [[Joseph Stalin]] and Soviet Foreign Minister [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] saw its relationship with Israel as a means of furthering the Soviet position in the Middle East.<ref>Yossi Goldstein, "Doomed to Fail: Golda Meir's Mission to Moscow (Part 1)", ''[[Israel Council on Foreign Relations|The Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs]]'' Vol. 5 No. 3 (September 2011), p. 134 and 137</ref> However, [[Israel–Russia relations|Soviet–Israeli relations]] were complicated by Soviet policies against religious institutions and nationalist movements, made manifest in actions to shut down Jewish religious institutions as well as the ban on [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] language study and the prohibition of promoting emigration to Israel.<ref>Goldstein (Sept 2011), "Doomed to Fail", p. 138</ref>

Just 20 days after her term began, [[Anti-cosmopolitan campaign|antisemitic crackdowns]] began in response to an article by Soviet Jewish writer [[Ilya Ehrenburg]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Answer to a Letter |url=https://www.revolutionarydemocracy.org/rdv12n2/ehrenburg.htm |access-date=2023-02-18 |website=www.revolutionarydemocracy.org}}</ref> Meir and the other Israeli representatives responded by making a point of visiting Russian Jewish businesses, synagogues, and performances.<ref name="Goldstein131" />

On 3 October, during [[Rosh Hashanah]] celebrations at the [[Moscow Choral Synagogue]], she was mobbed by thousands of [[History of the Jews in Russia and the Soviet Union|Russian Jews]] chanting in Russian "Nasha Golda", meaning "Our Golda". In her autobiography she said "I felt as though I had been caught up in a torrent of love so strong that it had literally taken my breath away and slowed down my heart." This event was commemorated by the Israeli 10,000-[[Old Israeli shekel|shekel]] banknote issued in November 1984. It bore a portrait of Meir on one side and the image of the crowd greeting her in Moscow on the other.<ref>[http://www.iasps.org/nbn/nbn353.htm Call Uncle Sam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726165417/http://www.iasps.org/nbn/nbn353.htm|date=July 26, 2011}} ''News Behind the News'', June 10, 2001</ref>

To her close friends, she admitted she had little to do in Moscow and felt isolated from Israeli politics.<ref name=":1" /> Despite being a socialist that was born in Ukraine, her Jewish side caused friction with the Soviets that made progress difficult. By the end of her term, she felt she had accomplished little. She reportedly felt guilty for not achieving more for the Russian Jews, as she would have been in their situation if her father had not moved to the United States. 

She planned to run for the first [[Knesset]] elections on 25 January 1949. The month before the elections, she returned to Israel and campaigned for [[Mapai]]. Mapai won 35% of the votes and formed a coalition, and Ben-Gurion invited her into the cabinet. She was sworn in on 8 March, and continued to serve in the Knesset until 1974.

=== Labor Minister (1949–1956) ===
[[File:Evita y Golda Meir.jpg|thumb|Golda Meir and [[Eva Perón]] in Argentina, 1951.]][[File:The first meeting of the Israeli 3rd government.jpg|thumb|Golda Meir at first session of the [[Third government of Israel|third government]] (1951)]]
Ben-Gurion initially offered Meir the position of "deputy prime minister", which she rejected. She found the title and responsibilities vague, and disliked the idea of needing to coordinate with so many government departments.<ref name=":1" />

Instead, she took the role of [[Labour Minister of Israel|Labor Minister]], which she held from 10 March 1949 to 19 June 1956.<ref name=":1" /> Meir enjoyed this role much more than her previous, calling it her "seven beautiful years". In particular, she enjoyed the ability to act quickly and with little friction from others. She was also one of the most powerful Israeli politicians at the time. 

The main source of friction in the role was funding, especially to deal with the millions of immigrants arriving in the new state. In October 1950, Meir announced in Washington a three-year-plan for Israel's development and stated a price tag of $15 billion over the next 15 years. The Israeli government managed to secure a loan from the United States government and American Jews that secured 40% of the budget. The newly-created [[Israel Bonds]] only provided a small amount, although years later they would contribute billions to the Israeli economy.<ref name=":1" />

Meir assisted in building over a hundred [[ma'abarot]] ({{Lang-he|מַעְבָּרוֹת}}), temporary immigrant camps with crude tin-roofed huts and tents for housing. She drew criticism from many new immigrants and contemporary politicians due to this, but responded by pointing to her limited budget and the time needed to construct proper housing. In 1953, she assisted in an effort to eliminate the ma'abarot. By 1956, two-thirds were eliminated, and 120,000 families moved to permanent housing.<ref name="google" /><ref name=":1" /> 

Meir considered herself highly productive during this period.<ref name=":1" /> She carried out welfare state policies, orchestrated the integration of immigrants into Israel's workforce,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography |url=http://www.morim-madrichim.org/en/GetFile/r/3703/biographiesrosamadpdf?firstreq=1 |access-date=January 31, 2013 |publisher=Morim Madrichim}}{{Dead link|date=December 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> and introduced major housing and road construction projects.<ref name="micropedia">"Golda Meir", ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]],'' Micropædia, 1974, 15th edition, p. 762</ref> From 1949 to 1956, 200,000 apartments and 30,000 houses were built, large industrial and agricultural developments were initiated, and new hospitals, schools, and roads were built.<ref name="google">{{Cite book |last=Flatt, J.M.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqSckpZ4DGgC |title=Powerful Political Women: Stirring Biographies of Some of History's Most Powerful Women |date=2012 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9781462068197 |page=172 |access-date=December 3, 2014}}</ref> Despite the complaints of her colleagues in the Finance Ministry, Meir worked to establish [[Bituah Leumi|social security]], maternity benefits, work-related accident insurance, benefits to widows and orphans, and even burial costs.<ref name="google2">{{Cite book |last=Reich, B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3D5FulN2WqQC |title=Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary |date=1990 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780313262135 |page=329 |access-date=December 3, 2014}}</ref> 

In 1954, she sided with Ben-Gurion against [[Pinhas Lavon]] in the [[Lavon Affair]].<ref name=":1" /> 

In the summer of 1955, Meir reluctantly [[Municipal elections in Israel|ran]] for the position of mayor of Tel Aviv on request of her party. At the time, mayors were elected by the city council and not directly. She lost by the two votes of the religious bloc who withheld their support on the grounds that she was a woman.<ref>''My Life''. p. 232. She 'wasn't very pleased' with B.G. and was 'enraged' by the religious bloc.</ref><ref name="elections">[https://en.idi.org.il/articles/10198 Dana Blander, "Elections for the Local Authority – Who, What, When, Where and How?"], first published in ''Parliament'', November 5, 2008, posted at Israel Democratic Institute; accessed August 21, 2018</ref> While angered by the sexism she encountered, she was happy to rejoin her colleagues in the cabinet.<ref name=":1" />

On 3 August 1955, she was again hospitalized after complaining of chest pains, and was diagnosed with arrhythmia.<ref name=":1" />

=== Foreign Minister (1956–1966) ===
[[File:Kennedy-Golda Meir.jpg|upright|thumb|Meir with U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]], 27 December 1962.]]
In October 1955, Ben-Gurion appointed Meir as foreign minister, replacing Sharett. The occasional disagreements between Ben-Gurion and Sharett had escalated to snubbing in meetings and refusals to speak face-to-face. Meir, while less experienced in foreign affairs than Sharett, had a consistently loyal and friendly relationship with Ben-Gurion. While Meir eventually came to enjoy her new job, she disliked the lingering pro-Sharett colleagues in her department.<ref name=":1" />

Meir served as foreign minister from 18 June 1956 to 12 January 1966. Her first months as Foreign Minister coincided with the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]], in which Israel, Britain, and France invaded Egypt to regain Western control over the [[Suez Canal]], remove the [[President of Egypt]] [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], and secure freedom of navigation through the [[Straits of Tiran]] for Israel.<ref>[http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/aboutisrael/history/pages/the%20arab-israeli%20wars.aspx The Arab-Israeli Wars, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs].  Retrieved March 21, 2015</ref> Meir planned and coordinated with the French government and military prior to the start of the invasion.<ref>[https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/isdf/text/golani.html ''Israel Studies An Anthology:  The Sinai War and Suez Crisis, 1956–7'', Motti Golani, 2010, Jewish Virtual Library].  Retrieved March 21, 2015</ref> During United Nations debates about the crisis, Meir took charge of the Israeli delegation.<ref>[https://www.msudenver.edu/golda/goldameir/chronologyofgoldameir/ ''Golda Meir: An Outline of a Unique Life – A Chronological Survey of Gola Meir's Life and Legacy'', Gold Meir Center for Political Leadership, Metropolitan State University of Denver].  Retrieved March 21, 2015</ref> After the fighting started, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations forced the three invaders to withdraw.

As foreign minister, Meir promoted ties with the newly established states in Africa in an effort to gain allies in the international community.<ref name="micropedia" /> She also believed that Israel had experience in nation-building that could be a model for the Africans. In her autobiography, she wrote:<blockquote>Like them, we had shaken off foreign rule; like them, we had to learn for ourselves how to reclaim the land, how to increase the yields of our crops, how to irrigate, how to raise poultry, how to live together, and how to defend ourselves. Israel could be a role model because it had been forced to find solutions to the kinds of problems that large, wealthy, powerful states had never encountered.<ref>Golda Meir, ''My Life,'' (New York: Dell Publishing, 1975), pp. 308–09</ref></blockquote>She also devoted much effort to convincing the United States to sell Israel weaponry. One success in this area came in 1962, when the White House quietly agreed to sell Hawk missiles to Israel.<ref name=":1" /> Israel's relationship with the Soviet Union remained frosty during her tenure.

On 29 October 1957, Meir's foot was slightly injured when a [[Mills bomb]] was thrown into the debating chamber of the Knesset. David Ben-Gurion and [[Moshe Carmel]] were more seriously injured. The attack was carried out by 25-year-old [[Moshe Dwek]]. Born in [[Aleppo]], his motives were attributed to a dispute with the Jewish Agency, but he was described as being "mentally unbalanced".<ref>[[Robert William St. John]], ''Ben Gurion''. Jarrods Publishers (Hutchinson Group), London. 1959. pp. 304–306.</ref><!--According to LOC http://lccn.loc.gov/he67000388 this book is only 304 pages, so page number may be in error -->

In 1958, shortly after the death of [[Pope Pius XII]], Meir praised the late pope for assisting the Jewish people. The pontiff's legacy as a wartime pope has continued to be controversial into the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jewish Gratitude for the Help of Pope Pius XII Who helped them against the perverse regime of the Nazis |url=http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/gratitude.htm |access-date=September 2, 2011 |publisher=Catholic Apologetics}}</ref>

[[File:PikiWiki Israel 12883 Villa Harun A.- Rashid Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Villa Harun Al Rashid, in [[Talbiya]], built in 1926 by a Palestinian, Hanna Bisharat, confiscated by the Israelis after 1948, and becoming Meir's residence during the 1960s]]

The same year, during the wave of Jewish migration from Poland to Israel, Meir sought to prevent disabled and sick Polish Jews from immigrating to Israel. In a letter sent to Israel's ambassador in Warsaw, [[Katriel Katz]], she wrote:
<blockquote>A proposal was raised in the coordination committee to inform the Polish government that we want to institute selection in aliyah, because we cannot continue accepting sick and handicapped people. Please give your opinion as to whether this can be explained to the Poles without hurting immigration."<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2009 |title=Golda Meir wanted to keep sick Poles from making aliyah |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/09/1009622/golda-meir-wanted-to-prevent-sick-polish-olim |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212235802/http://jta.org/news/article/2009/12/09/1009622/golda-meir-wanted-to-prevent-sick-polish-olim |archive-date=December 12, 2009 |publisher=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |df=mdy}}</ref></blockquote>

In late 1965, 67-year-old Meir was diagnosed with [[lymphoma]].<ref name=":1" /> In January 1966, she retired from her role as Foreign Minister, citing exhaustion and ill health, although she continued to serve in the Knesset and as secretary-general of Mapai.<ref name="micropedia" />

During the 1960s, Meir lived in a flat on the upper level of a house that was once known as Villa Harun al-Rashid. The house was built in 1926 by Hanna Bisharat and later rented to British officers. The house was later given to Zionist militias, due to the prominent view from the roof. According to Hanna Bisharat's grandson [[George Bisharat]], Meir had the tiles on the house's front sandblasted "to obliterate the 'Villa Harun ar-Rashid' and thereby conceal the fact that she was living in an Arab home."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/2004-01-02/ty-article/the-family-never-lived-here/0000017f-dc8c-df9c-a17f-fe9cfa6c0000 |title='The Family Never Lived Here' |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |accessdate=2023-10-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/5236 |title=How My Family Lost Their Home When Israel Took Over Palestinan Property in 1948 |publisher=[[George Washington University]] |accessdate=2023-10-29}}</ref>