Go
 

  Get this audio book:




Learn More About
Find More Titles by
This Author: Deborah E. Lipstadt
This Narrator: Dina Pearlman
This Publisher: Audible.com

Golda Meir: Israel's Matriarch by Deborah E. Lipstadt

Golda Meir: Israel's Matriarch

by Deborah E. Lipstadt


Title Details

Narrator
Publisher
 
Unabridged Edition
Running Time
8 Hrs. 54 Min.

Description

Golda Meir (1898-1978) was the first and only woman to serve as prime minister of Israel. She was born in Kiev into a childhood of poverty, hunger, and antisemitism. When she was five, her father left to find work in America, and a year later the family settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a teenager she became devoted to Labor Zionism, giving street-corner speeches, and her family's home became a destination for Zionist emissaries. Her love for Labor Zionism was so fervent that her boyfriend, Morris Meyerson (her future husband), was often in competition with her dedication to the cause.

Zionism prevailed. In 1921, Golda left America for Palestine with Morris and her sister Sheyna. Though the reality of living in Palestine was far from the dream of Zionism, Meir settled on the kibbutz Merhavia and was swiftly appointed to the Histadrut (the General Organization of Hebrew Workers in Palestine). As an ally of the Zionist David Ben-Gurion, Meir played an important role in the Yishuv, the pre-state Jewish community in Palestine; proved an almost singular ability to connect and fundraise with diaspora Jewry, particularly Americans; and served in three pivotal positions following Israel's independence: labor secretary of the newly formed state, foreign minister, and Israel's fourth prime minister.

In tracing the life of Golda Meir, acclaimed author Deborah E. Lipstadt explores the history of the Yishuv and Jewish state from the 1920s through the 1973 Yom Kippur War, all while highlighting the contradictions and complexities of a person who was only the third woman to serve as a head of state in the 20th century.


People Who Liked Golda Meir: Israel's Matriarch Also Liked These Free Titles:
  American Experience - PBS Podcast
by WGBH History Unit

  Everything Is Stories Podcast
by Garrett Crowe