International Women’s Day, which falls this week on March 8, was previously called “International Working Woman’s Day” and was first celebrated in the US in 1909, in memory of a women’s union strike that took place a year earlier.
Golda Meir, who was also the first female head of state in the Western world, and the third in the world, became famous with the “kitchen” or “kitchenette” which was her kitchen, in her home, and was used for consultations usually on Saturday evenings before the government meeting the next day.
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Golda Meir, who was also the first female head of state in the Western world, and the third in the world, became famous with the “kitchen” or “kitchenette” in her home, which was used for consultations, usually at night before the government meeting the next day
In fact, the chauvinistic expression that the woman’s place is in the kitchen became for Golda Meir a symbol of power under the leadership of a woman, and since then it has become a common expression of a forum of senior officials and advisers working alongside the government for the purpose of formulating important decisions on security, economic or political issues.
Upon immigrating to the Land of Israel in 1921 from the United States, Golda and her husband Morris Meyerson joined Kibbutz Merhavia in the Jezreel Valley. When it was Golda’s turn to work in the kitchen, as she later told, she was rather happy, to everyone’s amazement, “Now I can really do something about the horrible food.”
In those days, the women of the kibbutz hated working in the kitchen – not because it was hard work, but because they considered it degrading. Golda said that the women of the kibbutz did not fight for equality in rights but for equality in duties. They wanted to be given any job that their male friends are given – building roads, tilling the fields, building houses, or guard duties – and not to be treated as if they were different and doomed to work in the kitchen anyway.
Golda herself did not see anything wrong with working in the kitchen either. “Why is it so much better”, she asked her friends who were depressed or angry because of working in the kitchen, “to work in the barn and feed the cows than to work in the kitchen and feed your friends?”.
Despite the difficulty and labor, Golda was happy in the kibbutz, and even integrated into its leadership, however, her husband Maurice not only did not find himself in the kibbutz, but he also fell ill for several weeks and on the recommendation of a doctor, the couple had to leave life in the kibbutz in the Emek after about two and a half years in favor of life in the city.
The chauvinistic expression that a woman’s place is in the kitchen became for Golda a symbol of power under the leadership of a woman, and became a common expression of a forum of senior officials working alongside the government to formulate important decisions on security, economic and political issues
Golda continued her public activities and very quickly found herself a part of the leadership of the settlement and then the leadership of the state. First as chairman of the Workers’ Council (the first incarnation of the Naamat movement), sending the Yishuv and the young state to raise funds abroad, Israel’s axis in Moscow, minister of labor, minister of foreign affairs and prime minister.
Golda did not admire the kind of feminism that leads to burning bras or hating men, as she wrote, but constructive feminism. Golda cherished the women of the labor movement – Ada Maimon, Beba Idelson, Rachel Yanait Ben Zvi and others who stood out both in their leadership and also gave many women practical training and theoretical knowledge that enabled them to do their part and even more at work. According to Golda, this type of constructive feminism is much more important than the question of who sweeps the house or who sets the table.
Golda shared her thoughts in her book “My Life” regarding the status of women and argued that women should be treated as equal in value to men in all respects. But, as is true of the Jewish people, Golda wrote, they don’t have to be better than everyone else to live like human beings or feel that they have to do miracles all the time to be accepted at all.
On the other hand, there was once a rumor, about which Golda said that as far as she knew it was only a rumor – according to which David Ben-Gurion described her as the “only man” in his government. The thing that drove Golda away in this story was that apparently Ben-Gurion (or whoever invented the story) thought it was the greatest compliment one could give a woman. “I am very satisfied if it would have flattered any man if I had told him that he was the only woman in the government!” said Golda.
There was a practice once – according to which Ben-Gurion described her as “the only man” in his government. dismissed Golda that it was taken as a compliment. “I am very satisfied if it would have flattered some man if I had told him that he was the only woman in the government”
“The fact is that all my life I have lived and worked with men, but the fact that I am a woman has never bothered me in anything. It has never caused me embarrassment and has never caused me an inferiority complex, just as it has never caused me to think that the situation of men is better than that of women – or that It is a disaster to give birth to children. Not at all. And men have never treated me against the law. But it is true, in my opinion, that women who want a life outside the home and not just inside it, and women who need such a life, have it much, much harder than men, because they carry a double burden And heavy… the life of a working mother, living without the constant presence and support of the father of her children, is three times more difficult than the life of any man I have ever met,” Golda wrote.
When she was already a grandmother to her grandchildren, Golda wrote that her life was an example of these dilemmas and difficulties. “I was always rushing from place to place – to work, home, to a meeting, to take Menachem to a music lesson, to make it to the doctor with Sara, to shop, cook, to work and back home. And yet, to this very day, I am not sure that I did not harm the children or neglect them, Although I tried not to be away from them for even an hour longer than was absolutely necessary. They grew up to be healthy, productive, talented and good people, and both are wonderful parents to their own children and wonderful friends to myself. But I know that as they grew up and matured they had a deep resentment towards My activity is outside our home.”
When she was already prime minister, on the eve of Yom Kippur in 1973, the Chief of Staff, David Elazar, the Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan (former Chief of Staff), the head of the National Security Agency, Eli Zaira, and another former Chief of Staff, Haim Bar Lev, who was then Minister of Commerce and the industry) – everyone was far from being sure that war would break out.
“They are all very experienced commanders, people who fought and led other people in battles that were crowned with resounding victories. Each of them had a glorious military past, and which our intelligence services knew were among the best in the world,” Golda later wrote, adding that she had to make a decision against to the positions presented to her.
“On that Friday morning, I had to listen to the warnings of my heart and order to recruit (reservists). For me, the fact cannot be ignored and will never be ignored… It is not important what logic dictated. The only important thing is that I, who was so used to making decisions – and also I accepted them during the war – I did not accept this one decision.”
“That morning I should have listened to the warnings of my heart and the team about recruitment. For me, the fact cannot and will never be resolved. The only important thing is that I, who was so used to making decisions, did not make this one decision.”
“It would have been illogical on my part if I had insisted and insisted on enlistment,” Golda continued and wrote, “but I know I had to do it, and this terrible news will accompany me for the rest of my days. I will never again be the person I was before the Yom Kippur War.”
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