Golda Mabovitch was born in Russia, in Kyiv within the “Pale of Settlement” for Jews. At the age of 5, her family moved to the United States due to physical and economic insecurity, and Golda grew up and studied in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (which gave her the iconic American accent). Golda was drawn to Zionism, and in 1920 she immigrated to the Land of Israel with her newlywed husband Morris Meyerson (from whom she soon divorced, but she kept his last name, later shortened).
In the Land of Israel, Golda became a public figure involved in politics and the workers’ union. Within a decade, she was elected to the Assembly of Representatives of the Jewish community under the Mapai party. In her role, she primarily dealt with foreign affairs, with frequent trips to the U.S. and other countries. In 1948, she was one of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence, and immediately afterward embarked on two highly significant diplomatic missions to the U.S. and the Soviet Union.
For five years, Golda served as Minister of Labor in Ben-Gurion’s governments; in 1955, she almost became the Mayor of Tel Aviv, and in 1956, she served as Foreign Minister for a decade. In the late 1960s, she was one of the founders of the Labor Party and became one of its most senior politicians. With the sudden death of Levi Eshkol in 1969, Golda succeeded him as Prime Minister by consensus.
In the following elections, Golda achieved the greatest success in history (56 seats) and led Israel with a firm hand during a challenging period (the end of the War of Attrition, international terrorism, and the Black Panthers). The Yom Kippur War, which broke out in 1973, overshadowed her term and led her to resign a year later (although she was not officially blamed). Golda suffered from cancer during her tenure and passed away a few years later.
Despite the passage of time, Golda’s image remains vivid and enduring in the people of Israel to this day.
