Golda Meir
Labour Zionism's matriarch
Collectivist economics with a security-first conservatism.
Rooted Social DemocratOne of 729 ideologies · enter the Social Democrat hall →- Role
- Prime Minister
- Era
- 1898–1978
- Region
- Israel
- Social band
- Rooted
- Placement
- −48 · −16 · −24
§ Where Golda Meir stands
3 axesMeir came of age in the Histadrut, the labour federation that owned construction firms, banks and Israel's largest health fund, and she shared its collectivist kibbutz ethos. As minister of labour she steered through the National Insurance Law of 1953, which founded Israel's social security system, and ran mass public housing for immigrants, while accepting private enterprise and foreign capital alongside the state and union sectors.
Meir was a parliamentary democrat who governed through coalition and the Knesset, and she resigned in April 1974 when anger over the war's failures made her position untenable. On security she was resolute and centralised: key decisions ran through an informal kitchen cabinet of senior ministers, and after the 1972 Munich massacre she authorised a covert campaign to assassinate those held responsible.
Socially Meir was a secular but traditional nation-builder. Her government's 1970 amendment to the Law of Return defined a Jew by the religious test of a Jewish mother or conversion, the rabbinate's control of marriage went unchallenged, and she dismissed the Mizrahi Black Panther protests of 1971 against discrimination. In a 1969 interview she denied that the Palestinians had existed as a distinct people.
How close are you to Golda Meir?
Three statements, one per axis. Answer them and we’ll drop you on the compass next to them.
§ The story
HistoricalGolda Meir (1898–1978) was Israel's fourth prime minister, from 1969 to 1974, and the first woman to hold the office. Born Golda Mabovitch in Kiev, she emigrated as a child to Milwaukee, became a Labour Zionist activist and teacher, and in 1921 moved to Palestine with her husband, Morris Meyerson, joining Kibbutz Merhavia. She rose through the Histadrut labour federation, raised large sums from American Jews in 1948, signed Israel's Declaration of Independence and served as envoy to Moscow, minister of labour from 1949 to 1956 and foreign minister from 1956 to 1966.
Chosen in 1969 as a party compromise to succeed Levi Eshkol, she presided over the War of Attrition with Egypt and answered the 1972 Munich massacre with a covert campaign against those held responsible. Her government's cool response to Anwar Sadat's peace overtures in 1971 was later criticised. The surprise Egyptian and Syrian attack of October 1973 cost Israel more than 2,500 lives, and anger over the failures of preparedness mounted after the Agranat Commission's interim report; she resigned in April 1974. She is remembered as an iron-willed founder and criticised for rigidity towards Arab states and the Palestinians.
Notable for
- 01Histadrut labour leadership
- 02Israel's first female PM
- 03Yom Kippur War premiership
Key works & moments
- 1921Emigrates from the United States to Palestine and joins Kibbutz Merhavia.
- 1948Signs Israel's Declaration of Independence and becomes the new state's envoy to Moscow.
- 1953As labour minister, steers through the National Insurance Law creating Israel's social security system.
- 1969Becomes Israel's first woman prime minister after Levi Eshkol's death.
- 1973Leads Israel through the Yom Kippur War after a surprise Egyptian and Syrian attack.
- 1974Resigns amid public anger over the war's intelligence and preparedness failures.
§ Minds closest to Golda Meir
All minds →
§ Also in the Social Democrat hall
Enter the hall →§ Common questions
4 answersWhat was Golda Meir's political ideology?
Golda Meir was a Labour Zionist: on the 99ideologies three-axis compass, a Rooted Social Democrat. Economically she sits left of centre (−48), shaped by the Histadrut and the kibbutz and, as labour minister, the founder of Israel's social security system. On governance she was a parliamentary democrat (−16) with a hard line on security, and socially she leaned traditional (−24), secular in belief but protective of national and religious tradition and dismissive of challenges to the established order.
Was Golda Meir left-wing or right-wing?
Left-wing on economics, hawkish on security. Meir spent her life in the Labour Zionist movement, the dominant left of Israeli politics, and believed in a strong labour federation, collective settlement and a welfare state. But on territory, defence and relations with the Arab world she was a hardliner, resisting concessions after 1967 and denying Palestinian national identity, positions often associated with the right. In Israeli terms she belongs to the old Labour left, at its security-first end.
Was Golda Meir responsible for the Yom Kippur War failures?
Partly, in the public's eyes, though not according to the official inquiry. The Agranat Commission's 1974 report blamed military intelligence and the army's chief of staff, David Elazar, who resigned, and did not assign personal responsibility to Meir or Defence Minister Moshe Dayan. But protests grew against the government that had been surprised on 6 October 1973, when Meir decided against a pre-emptive strike to keep American support. She resigned in April 1974, and historians still debate her government's pre-war diplomacy.
Which minds are closest to Golda Meir?
On the 99ideologies three-axis compass, the minds closest to Golda Meir are Ernest Bevin (96% alike), Helmut Schmidt (94% alike) and Ramsay MacDonald (93% alike). The furthest is Adam Sutler (24% alike).