GOLDA

Golda Meir started her career as a school teacher in Milwaukee, she ended up being the “Meir” that made Milwaulkee famous. She moved to Palestine and in giving her the highest possible accolade, Ben-Guroion said of her, “of all the men in my cabinet, she has the biggest pair of balls!.”

She served as Israel’s first ambassador to the Soviet Union. In 1969, following the death of Levi Eshkol, she became prime minister, but she never stopped being a Jewish mother with a very special sensitivity.

As we stood at her graveside, our guide told us about her now famous comment on the Arab-Israeli conflict — she said, “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. But we cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.”