Golda Meir became an “anomaly” for the then patriarchal government, particularly because of her iron determination combined with charm, benevolence, uncompromising and total devotion to her country. In honour of her birthday, we have selected the most interesting and popular quotes by the political figure.
Popular Golda Meir Quotes
About life
- “I remember poverty, cold, hunger and fear, there was never anything in abundance – no food, no warm clothes, no firewood, and porridge was a real luxury for us.”
- “I learnt a very important lesson: a man can always make a little more out of what yesterday seemed to be the limit of his capabilities.”
- “I can honestly say that I was never interested in the success of my act. If I realised that I was doing the right thing, I did my best, regardless of the possible outcome.”
- “You can get used to anything if you have to, even Eternal Guilt.”
- “Pessimism is a luxury Jews can’t afford.”
- “Being a woman has never hindered me. Never have I had feelings of embarrassment or an inferiority complex, never have I thought that men are better than women or that having a child is a misfortune. Never. And men for their part have never given me any special favours. But it also seems to me to be true that things are much harder for a woman who wants to lead not only a domestic but also a social life than for a man, because there is a double burden on her.”
- “I have realised that in the conflict between duty and my most cherished desires, duty is more important to me.”
- “No movement lasts long if it is badly wired, if it aims only at blackmail and bloodshed, even if it has a lot of money and is fuelled by a policy of appeasement (and now the world is resorting again to the same policy of appeasement that has never brought anything but catastrophe before)”.
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“I want only one thing: never to lose the feeling of gratitude for everything that has been given to me, from the time I first heard about Zionism in a small room in the Russian Empire until today. After fifty years in this land where five of my grandchildren have grown up as free Jews in their own country. Let there be no doubt: our children and our children’s children will never settle for less”.
On power and Israel
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“There is no difference between killing a person and making a decision that results in that person being killed by others. It is exactly the same, if not worse, a political leader who does not hesitate to throw his people into war has no right to be a leader.”
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“For the sake of peace, I am ready to go anywhere at any time, to meet with any official leader of any Arab state, to negotiate in a spirit of mutual respect and equality, without preconditions and with the clear realisation that contentious issues can be resolved, that there is enough space in the Middle East to satisfy the national hopes of all Arab states as well as Israel, and that instead of useless bloodshed and endless war, progress, development and co-operation between all Arab states can be intensified
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“Moses led us through the desert for 40 years to bring us to the only place in the Middle East where there is no oil at all.”
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“Two dangers await those of us who have emerged as a newly independent state: firstly, the danger of lingering in the past; secondly, the illusion that political independence will immediately solve all our problems.”
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“It was never my intention to become Prime Minister, in fact, I never thought of the post at all.[ ]I became Prime Minister and I did, just as my milkman became commander of our outpost on Mount Hermon. Neither he nor I enjoyed the job, but he and I tried to do it as well as we could.”
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“The world is cruel, selfish and brutal. It ignores the suffering of small nations. Even the most educated governments and democracies, led by decent people representing decent people, are not now too inclined to think much about the problem of justice in international relations.[ ]We cannot always be guided by their advice and so we must have the courage to look at things realistically and act as our instinct for self-preservation tells us.”
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“Peace in the Middle East will come when Arabs love their children more than they hate Jews “.
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“It will be the big day when Arab farmers cross the Jordan not in tanks but in tractors, and extend the hand of friendship – like farmer to farmer, like man to man. It may be a dream, but I am sure that one day it will come true.”
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“On the other hand, I suppose there are only two responses to trials of national proportions. One is to give up, fold one’s arms and say, ‘it’s impossible.’ Or you can grit your teeth and fight on as many fronts as you need to, as long as you need to – that’s what we did, and that’s what we’re doing today”