00:00Women who change the world.
00:30Trust yourself.
00:33Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.
00:38Golda Meir.
00:39Golda Meir was born May 3, 1898.
00:44The carpenter's daughter started life in Russia.
00:47The family was non-religious, but proud of its Jewishness.
00:51By 1903, Golda's father knew that his family was no longer safe in Russia.
00:57He sold his tools to pay for his passage to America.
01:02In 1906, Golda, along with her mother and sisters, began their trip from Kiev to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
01:09There were early signs that Golda Meir was a strong leader.
01:13At 11 years old, Golda organized a fundraiser for students who could not afford to buy their textbooks.
01:19This event, which included Golda's first foray into public speaking, was a great success.
01:26Two years later, Golda Meir graduated from 8th grade first in her class.
01:32One morning in 1912, Golda Meir left her house, ostensibly headed for school, but instead boarded a train for Denver.
01:41Golda Meir's deep commitment to the cause of Zionism determined the course of her life.
01:47At age 23, she immigrated to what was then called Palestine with her husband.
01:52Meir and Meirson applied to live on Kibbutz Merhevia in northern Palestine, but had difficulty getting accepted.
02:00Meir was chosen by members of her community as their representative at the first Kibbutz convention in 1922.
02:06She quickly earned a place on the governing committee of her kibbutz.
02:12Meir was one of 24 signatories, two of them women, of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948.
02:21Passionate about her cause, Golda Meir, now 19 years old, finally agreed to marry Meirson, on the condition that he move with her to Palestine.
02:30Meirson agreed to go because he loved her.
02:33Golda and Morris married in 1917 and began planning to make Aliyah, immigration to the land of Israel, then a part of the Ottoman Empire.
02:42They made the move to Palestine in 1921, together with Golda's sister Sheena.
02:48There, they had two children, a son and a daughter.
02:51In 1932, Golda had to go to the U.S. for two years as an emissary.
02:56The children went with her, but Morris stayed in Jerusalem.
03:00They lived apart, but never divorced.
03:02In 1969, Meir was elected as Israel's fourth prime minister.
03:07She had many years of political experience when she accepted this role.
03:11Meir's five-year term came during some of the most turbulent years in Middle Eastern history.
03:17She dealt with the repercussions of the Six-Day War, 1967, during which Israel retook the land's gain during the Suez-Sinai War.
03:25The Israeli victory led to further conflict with Arab nations and resulted in strained relations with other world leaders.
03:33Meir was also in charge of Israel's response to the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre,
03:39in which the Palestinian group called Black September took hostage and then killed 11 members of Israel's Olympic team.
03:46Meir, who had been privately battling lymphatic cancer for 15 years, died on December 8, 1978, at the age of 80.
03:55Her dream of a peaceful Middle East has not yet been realized.
03:59Golda Meir's work was dedicated to founding a Jewish state.
04:03She also strived for peace in the Middle East.
04:05She diligently worked on encouraging other people to join her cause and brought others to the table to help her accomplish her dream.
04:14Golda Meir always wanted to help others, and through perseverance, she eventually helped found a place where Jews could be masters, not victims, of their fate.
04:23She made it through obstacles that no one else could endure and was able to accomplish her goals.
04:28Unlike others before her, she never once thought to give in to doubts.
04:32By empowering and unifying people through her leadership, and accomplishing arduous goals by persevering through obstacles,
04:39Golda Meir has earned the title of Hero.
04:56Women who change the world
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