My Life: The Iron Lady of Israel, Golda Meir - VII

The expectations from life were minimal as both Morris and Golda knew what poverty was. They knew that wants and reality hardly could match in Palestine. They knew that if they were committed to the idea of an independent nation they had to forego many things. The times were difficult , even hard work fell short of the needs of life. Golda stated that the greatest strength of kibbutz life was ,one did not have to face the anxiety alone. Though adults had to forego some needs, children had enough to eat,this always was a relief. She even suggested during the early phase of second world war that the entire jew community living before the first wave of immigration in 1882 and the Jews came to Palestine before 1948 should think of co-operative kitchen to ensure sufficient food for children. Though it was not accepted then she felt that it really made sense.

 

 

 

 

She experienced the fear of not being able to have sufficient food for children but loneliness and isolation too. She did not go to Palestine just to lead the kind of life she was leading at Jerusalem, the salary of Morris was not paid regularly,the credit slip offered by the company was not honoured either by landlord or by nursery school teacher. All wanted cash. Buying things and running a home was extremely difficult. Worry to feed the family was a constant affair. After the birth of her daughter Sara she was in search of a job where she did not have to leave the child at home. She took up the job of laundry of the school in exchange of the fees. She was not worried about the hard work, even at Merhavia she had to work harder,but she was a part of a group. In Jerusalem she felt more like a prisoner,who was punished by circumstances beyond the control. She had to keep battling for every simple thing. The winter was harsh,and children had health problems as the house could not be kept warm. She could not imagine how the things would change in near future for better. Of course she painted a different picture to her parents and even tried to hide the reality from her sister.

 

Jerusalem was a symbol of continuous Jewish history,but Golda was very exausted and disheartened.

 

 

Once she had been to western wall, ( Jewish people have been praying at the wall for two thousand years and travel from around the world to gather and pray at this holy site. ) She saw people scribblings petitions to the Almighty and pushing into the small opening of the wall. She saw it as the refusal to accept that only the wall was left to them,it was an expression of confidence about the future. This sight boosted her morale .

 

Fifty years after this,she was conferred with the freedom of Jerusalem, which she treated to be the greatest tribute. In 1967 too after the six day war,when the news of liberation of Old City by the soldiers reached,the entire nation was electrified. Golda too visited the city then as an ordinary citizen. The soldiers who fought a ferocious battle to liberate it ,stood clinging to the wall wearing the prayer shawl. She cried with a soldier who put his arms around her , resting his head on her shoulder. Golda described this as one of the most touching moments of her life.

 

She noted late 1920s were really very disturbing years,there were 7000 men without work,many immigrants were entering than the Jewish community could possibly accomodate. Many returned to US and other parts of British Empire. Many who returned to Russia were sent to Siberia for the idealogical reasons or killed as punishment. The Jewish community economy was not much developed rather undeveloped. There were very few enterprises to absorb the people,the wages for Jewish workers were low,but Arabs were ready to work for even less than that. The Jewish home was a distant reality.

 

Her parents reached Palestine in 1927,her father bought two pieces of lands using money he saved in Milwaukee. He built a house in Herzlia,her mother started cooking and serving midday meal,her father helped her in this. As there were hardly any restaurants in the area then,her efforts succeeded.

 

Golda's parents though they adjusted themselves well in Palestine,but financial position was very difficult. Golda noted when the entire family had assembled for Passover,( a Jewish holiday that celebrates the biblical story of Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt) there was not anything to prepare for the festival. A religious meal ' Seder ' was to be served on the 15'th and 16'th of the Nissan, ( the month of barley ripening that is the first month of spring) her father felt very very ashamed of the situation. Poverty never had such impact on him before.

 

Golda described that same time she was bitten by a dog, and for the anti-rabies injection she went to Tel Aviv. It came as a boon in disguise,as she some how could get 10 pounds loan from a bank, it could help the family. ( It was a big amount then )

 

Tel Aviv had a different look then,the sight of unemployed men and half finished buildings used made her feel unhappy . She always wanted to actively participate in improving the situation.

 

A new phase

 

She came accross the opportunity at Histadrut. It was a general federation of Jewish labour,but it was unique in many ways as the situation of Jewish workers was totally different from the workers of the western countries and US, the rights of Jewish as well as arab workers were to be guarded. Much was to be done in the area like decent wages, right to strike,paid annual holidays,sick leaves and many more. Histadrut was much more than a trade union,it represented all the jew wage earners blue or white collar workers, manual labours or intellectuals and was at the forefront of the efforts to bring Jews to Palestine.

 

It had stupendous task ahead to creat everything out of nothing and build natinal economy which the Palestine did not have.

 

The kind of people Golda was completely at home with were a part of Histadrut, ' creation of labour community for the future of Palestine was the objective '. Though the number of workers was small, they wanted to be at the forefront for the state-in-the-making. Every aspect of Jewish national home was given importance. It had a great role and still has.

 

In 1924 every member of Histadrut became the owner of all its assets, though there were not many then. Even Solel Boneh ( one of the largest construction and engineering companies of Israel now) ( Golda and Morris were suggested to work for it in Jerusalem) was re-established,it had collapsed in 1927 when over-expanded. Histadrut was labelled as a romantic role , grandiose which was doomed to be a failure then but it survived to play decisive role in building everything in Israel and the projects carried completed out side the country. Histadrut had a great role in many fields like education, agriculture even medical, priority was given to upbuildind the nation.

 

Golda was asked to work as the secretary of 'the Women's Labour Council ' of Histadrut. The job required traveling in and outside Palestine,they had to relocate in Tel Aviv,the full attention to the family was not possible. The marriage was on the downhill, she still had a hope and she still wanted to have a ' purposeful and interesting ' life to live. The decision was the beginning of the separation. Morris ,Golda thought understood her well, realised that he could not change her. She was not the kind of person he desired as a wife. So he did not dissuade her,he knew what it meant to her.

 

Her children loved him, visited him often, he was a wonderful father to them even after their separation. In 1928 Golda returned to Tel Aviv leaving Jerusalem phase behind. She went back to work. The Women's Council later looked after social services and the labour legislation for women in Israel,but then the focus was on the vocational training for young girls who came to Palestine with no farming background, most of them were without families and even their consent.This helped them to integrate well into the country,they were taught Hebrew, ' working women's farms ' were set up. This kind of feminism was a constructive aspect of it.

 

Golda stated that ' women should be treated as equals of men '. When it came to the description of Golda by Ben-Gurion as ' the only man in his cabinet ' ,she wondered whether men would feel flattered if one is described as ' the only woman in the government '. She worked and lived with men,but being a woman was never proved to be an obstacle. She never experienced the feeling of unease or inferiority complex nor did she get a preferential treatment. She felt those who wish to work outside and for the family have double burden,of course kibbutz had the facility to work and raise children. Her life at Tel Aviv had this kind of dilemmas,she would be constantly on the run to attend the meeting and looking after the needs of children. Her children grew up to be ' healthy, productive, talented and good people '. Golda always had a thought that they definitely didn't like her activities outside.