From Golda: the Life of Israel's Prime MinisterThe Struggle with Her Parents over Her Educ

From Golda: the Life of Israel's Prime Minister

The Struggle with Her Parents over Her Education

When Golda graduated as valedictorian (致告别辞的毕业生代表) of her class, her mother was elated. Now the girl could work full-time in the grocery store. Even in America gifts were not expected to go to high school!

Golda, however, expected to go. And after some tearful arguments, her parents agreed. Papa had, for once, sided with her-albeit rather faintly. Perhaps he felt guilty that he, the breadwinner, actually earned so little. He was a wise, gentle, and scholarly man, but not cut out for business...

She had decided to become a teacher because such a profession was "intellectually and socially useful". Mama, however, had found out that married women were not permitted to teach in local schools. "You want to be mi old maid？" she screamed at Golda, "That's what you're studying for？"

Papa now sided strongly with Mama. Either Golda must quit school and go to work like other sensible gifts her age, or she must transfer to a business school to be trained in subjects which would help her get a job and, who knows, a husband too...

After running away from home and living with her married sister in Denver for two years, Golda won this battle too. She returned to Milwaukee to finish high school.

Golda's Determination for a Jewish Homeland

Golda was still in high school when the First World War broke out in Europe. And with the war came dire reports of increased programmes. The Jewish Pale of Settlement lay, unfortunately, in the every territory where Russian and German-Austrian armies clashed most often in violent battle. When the White Russian Army fled in retreat, they slaughtered Jews in that section for being German sympathizers. When the Russians swept back and Germans fled from the same section, they murdered Jews for being Russian spies.

The White Russian armies and their bitter opponents, the Germans, seemed to agree on one tenet only: anti-Semitism. And they had ample opportunities for carrying out their battle cry: death to the Jews. Of the ten million Jews in Europe, eight million lived in the Russian and Austro Hungarian empires.

Millions of Jews were rendered homeless. Committees were organized to raise funds for the ever-swelling ranks of Jewish refugees who fled from one town to the next, trying to keep out of the way of the armies. Golda worked with the People's Relief and with an organization called Aid in Need, formed by Jewish workers in Milwaukee to help hungry and homeless European Jews...

She felt broken apart inside. For nights she could not sleep. What good did it do, running around, making speeches, collecting money for a new generation of suffering, displaced, wandering Jews？ There had been a better answer than this. There had to be one place in the world where Jews could at last be free from persecution. There had to be a Jewish homeland. And it must be created as soon as possible. All her beliefs suddenly solidified into one single purpose. As soon as she could, she would go to Palestine and devote her life to this goal. She joined Poale Zion, the Labour Zionist Party.

Golda's Talent as a Speaker

She set about making money for her passage to Palestine. She worked part-time at the Sixteenth Street and North Avenue branch of the Milwaukee Public Library. In the spring of 1916 she graduated.... She entered Milwaukee Normal School for Teachers and took a part-time job at a Yiddish-speaking folk school which advocated Labour Zionism. But even this seemed too far removed from her goal. So she started speaking for the Labour Zionists' Poale Zion.

The organization soon discovered that the eighteen-year-old girl had a remarkable talent as a speaker. They sent her on speaking engagements around the country. Her mission: to try to stir the complacen

A．Y

B．N

C．NG