In
defiance of expectations of subservience and to marry young, Golda Meir ran
away from home at the age of just 14 simply to be educated. Her commitment to Zionism was persistent and
maintained even when having to take up several jobs to independently sustain
herself, eventually being one of two women to sign the Israeli Declaration of
Independence in Israel. After various leading positions in the Knesset and
enduring lymphoma which ailed her for many years, Meir became the first female
Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, 10 years before the esteemed Margaret
Thatcher. Her premiership as one of the
only female leaders in the Middle East is inspirational and undoubtedly her
position promoted the elevation and advancement of women’s status in the public
sphere at that time and today. Regardless of Meir being blamed for Israel’s
lack of preparation in the Yom Kippur War, it is clear that she was a strong
and charismatic leader as she was re-elected as Prime Minister by her people.
Meir was often described as the ‘Iron Lady’, years before the phrase was
associated with Thatcher, and is said to have been “the only man in my cabinet”
by Ben Gurion. Her paramount influence in paving the way for future female
leaders, to me, is just one outcome of her fearlessness and commitment to her
beliefs, without which she would not have reached her position, but is also
only one reason why she is my Jewish role model. As well as her political
significance, Golda Meir was able to challenge and defeat the stereotypical
views of a Jewish woman’s role extending no further than housewife and mother.
