Word: meire
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...Golda Meir...
...last name was Meir, but few Israelis ever thought of her as anything but Golda. To many people, her face was an appropriate symbol of Israel itself: strong, disarmingly homely, above all tough. It was a face that inspired love but also demanded respect-and the operative word was "demanded." Golda was of that generation of pioneers who built the Jewish state; she served as its Prime Minister through five years and one war. When she died last week at the age of 80, from the complications of lymphoma, an illness she had kept secret for twelve years, she still...
...policy of tough retaliation for every act of Arab sabotage or raid. Said Ben-Gurion: "She is the only man in my Cabinet." Overall, she had a love-hate relationship with Israel's blustery, impulsive first Premier. At his behest, she Hebraized her last name from Meyerson to Meir (meaning illumination). Privately she referred to Ben-Gurion as "that man." But he was indulgent of her tirades in closed Cabinet sessions. "You have to forgive her," he would say. "She had a very difficult childhood...
Like any high-ranking politician, Meir made mistakes. Her domestic policy was criticized for being too harsh on non-Jewish minorities, and she might have avoided the October 1973 war had she and her Labor government been more receptive to negotiating efforts...
...days following her death, it is difficult to find much room for criticism. Even those with no great love for her Zionist goals respect Meir as a human being of unusual strength, vitality and conviction, As an unassuming champion of women's rights, she led by example, not by rhetoric. Golda Meir will be greatly missed...