Time March 16–23, 2020
Golda Meir
1956 | ISRAEL’S ESSENTIAL EMISSARY
Born in Kyiv and raised in Milwaukee, Golda Meir embraced the Zionist dream of a Jewish homeland, and proved
effective at promoting it. After she raised $50 million for Israel’s war of independence, founding Prime Minister David
Ben-Gurion wrote that Meir was the “Jewish woman who got the money which made the state possible.” Golda Meir
became Israel’s second Foreign Minister in 1956. Her election as Prime Minister 13 years later made her not only
the first woman to lead Israel, but also a role model in another liberation movement, farther west. ÑKarl Vick
‘MANY ACCUSE ME
OF CONDUCTING
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
WITH MY HEART
INSTEAD OF MY
HEAD. WELL,
WHAT IF I DO?’
1950s
58 BETTMANN/GETTY IMAGES