Nadene Goldfoot
Who would know about Golda's long term education of the United States history as Golda Mabovitch that had an impact on her? She spent a lot of time here as an immigrant, born on May 3, 1898 in the Ukraine. They had settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was an American that became the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974. Her family immigrated in 1906 when she was only 8 years old. That would place her in the 3rd grade. She spent a good 15 years of living in the USA, mostly all in Milwaukee while growing up, those very informative years.
On 9 July 1917, Golda at 19 became a naturalized US citizen, as her father had naturalized, and at that time children of naturalized citizens under the age of 21 received citizenship by descent.
"On 24 December 1917, Golda Mabovietch and Morris Meyerson (b:17 December 1893 in Chicago, Illinois) married. He was 5 years older than she. However, Meir's precondition for marriage was to settle in Palestine. She had intended to make aliyah (immigration to Israel) straight away, but her plans were disrupted when all transatlantic passenger services were canceled due to the entry of the United States into the First World War. She then threw her energies into Poale Zion activities. A short time after their wedding, she embarked on a fund-raising campaign for Poale Zion that took her across the United States." From 1917 to 1921, 4 years, they lived in the USA.
Golda Mabovitch, married to Morris Meyerson, made Aliyah in 1921 when she was 23; now Golda Meir and her husband to Mandatory Palestine, settling in Merhavia, later becoming the kibbutz's representative to the Histadrut. This was at the time of the end of WWI and the division of the Ottoman Empire. Palestine was promised to become the Jewish National Homeland in Paris world-wide meetings, then quickly also promised to Prince Abdullah of Arabia most of the land.
She spent two years (1932–34) in the United States as an emissary for an organization and to get expert medical treatment for her daughter's kidney illness.
On 17 November 1947, when Golda was 49, shortly before the outbreak of the 1947-1949 Palestine war, Meir met with King Abdullah I of Jordan. Abdullah I was seen as the only Arab leader willing to ally with a future Israeli state, as he also opposed the Mufti of Jerusalem and was rivals with other Arab countries. The meeting was cordial and confirmed that Abdullah was uninterested in invading and quietly willing to cooperate in the future.
On 6 May, 1948 and now 50 years old, she visited Haifa after its 22 April occupation by Hagannah. This trip had a significant impact on her. There, she witnessed an elderly Arab woman emerging from a destroyed house, clutching to her few remaining belongings. When the two women made eye contact, they burst into tears. Meir went on to call the mass expulsion and flight of Arabs before the 1948 Palestine war "dreadful", and likened it to what befell the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe. Jews had tried to stop their leaving but their leadership urged them to stay in refugee camps. She returned to Tel Aviv, and eventually to Jerusalem two weeks before the end of the 30 year mandate the British had held.
On 10 May, Meir had a second meeting with Abdullah I. She travelled to Amman in secret, disguised as an Arab woman. He proposed that Palestine be absorbed into Jordan, with autonomy granted to majority-Jewish areas. Golda rejected the proposal. It then seemed likely that Abdullah I would invade.
- The Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as its emir, under the British Mandate for Palestine. 1922: The League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum. 1946:March 22: The Treaty of London, also known as the Anglo-Transjordanian treaty, was signed, recognizing the full independence of Transjordan. May 25: Transjordan became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Abdullah was proclaimed king. 1948:Following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the declaration of the state of Israel, Transjordan, now Jordan, entered the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and annexed the West Bank. 1967:Israel captured the West Bank during the Six Day War, and Jordan gave up its claim to the territory in 1988.
In 1969, Meir assumed the role of prime minister following the death of Levi Eshkol. Early in her tenure, she made multiple diplomatic visits to western leaders to promote her vision of peace in the region.
The outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 caught Israel off guard and inflicted severe early losses on the army. It was during her 2nd term, and was her downfall. She resigned the following year and was succeeded as prime minister by Yitzhak Rabin. Meir died in 1978 at age 80 of lymphoma and was buried on Mount Herzl. On October 6, 1973, Meir approved full-scale mobilizing but rejected a preemptive strike, citing concerns that Israel might be perceived as initiating hostilities, which would hurt Israel's access to crucial foreign aid and military support, in particular from the United States, in the resulting conflict. She made it a priority to inform Washington of her decision. U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger later confirmed Meir's assessment by stating that if Israel had launched a preemptive strike, Israel would not have received the backing of the United States. Golda resigned in 1974. Following the Yom Kippur War, Meir's government was plagued by infighting and questions over Israel's lack of preparation for the war. The Agranat Commission appointed to investigate the war cleared Meir of "direct responsibility". It said about her actions on Yom Kippur morning: She decided wisely, with common sense and speedily, in favour of the full mobilization of the reserves, as recommended by the chief-of-staff, despite weighty political considerations, thereby performing a most important service for the defence of the state.
She had been the daughter of Moshe Yitzhak Mabovitch (died 1944), a carpenter and Blume Neiditch (died 1951). Moshe moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in search of higher-paying work, and found employment in the workshops of the local railroad yard. The following year, he had saved up enough money to bring his family to the United States. Golda along with her mother and sisters landed in Quebec and traveled to Milwaukee by train. Golda never divorced Meyerson, but they had lived separated for some time with her in politics.
She wrote a wonderful book, an autobiography called My Life which I read long ago.
She was also brilliant with sayings that were so full of thought; so many of them: Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golda_Meir
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