An interesting piece on Golda Meir
Le Figaro has an item on Golda Meir, noting that the modest former official residence of Israeli prime ministers is to be turned into a museum.
It notes, 'It was here in the kitchen, and without standing on ceremony, that Golda Meir... used to convene ministerial meetings'.
Meir was quite a character, and Ben-Gurion referred to her as 'the only man in my government'. Although not the first female head of government, she is - to my knowledge - the only woman in modern times to have led a country during a life or death war, to whit, the Yom Kippur war of '73. I cannot find the reference, but there is a tale of her being told of the attacks by the Arab states and declaring in Yiddish, 'Nur das fullt mir' ('Now that's all I need'). A bit of googling etc shows that she was played by Ingrid Bergman in a TV mini-series, which is just way too surreal, frankly.
Getting a little closer to home, I'm strongly in favour of our elected leaders living in comparatively modest housing, and while 10 Downing Street is hardly a shoebox, it is a good deal less showy than the White House, or across the Channel, the Matignon or Elysee palaces.
Le Figaro has an item on Golda Meir, noting that the modest former official residence of Israeli prime ministers is to be turned into a museum.
It notes, 'It was here in the kitchen, and without standing on ceremony, that Golda Meir... used to convene ministerial meetings'.
Meir was quite a character, and Ben-Gurion referred to her as 'the only man in my government'. Although not the first female head of government, she is - to my knowledge - the only woman in modern times to have led a country during a life or death war, to whit, the Yom Kippur war of '73. I cannot find the reference, but there is a tale of her being told of the attacks by the Arab states and declaring in Yiddish, 'Nur das fullt mir' ('Now that's all I need'). A bit of googling etc shows that she was played by Ingrid Bergman in a TV mini-series, which is just way too surreal, frankly.
Getting a little closer to home, I'm strongly in favour of our elected leaders living in comparatively modest housing, and while 10 Downing Street is hardly a shoebox, it is a good deal less showy than the White House, or across the Channel, the Matignon or Elysee palaces.
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Whilst I accept she had an enviable record in defending her country so to did Maggie and Indira Ghandi
All very true, and going back a few centuries, Elizabeth I and Catherine the Great make most of their male counterparts look pretty feeble.
To pcf. Perhaps you did not have Grandparents and Great Uncles and Great Aunts nearby for your early years. It is a joy to see elderly change and remember different faces, all pleasant, each one. http://www.uwm.edu/Library/digilib/Golda/index.html
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