Golda (59 page)

1. But Golda had gamed out every move: Ibid., p. 305.
   

2. “Stating that no party member”: Almogi,
   Total Commitment
   .
   

3. Ben-Gurion prepared himself carefully: For background on Ben-Gurion’s mood, see Kurzman,
   Ben-Gurion, Prophet of Fire,
   pp. 446–48.
   

214 thrown down the gauntlet: Medzini,
Ha-Yehudiyah,
chapter 14.

1. “I don’t know what the people”: Speeches from the Night of the Long Knives are contained in the Central Zionist Archives, A245/139.
   

2. From a wheelchair:
   Jerusalem Post,
   February 18, 1965, and Almogi,
   Total Commitment
   p. 229.
   

215 kissed the dying man: Michael Bar-Zohar,
Ben-Gurion: The Armed Prophet

(New York: Prentice-Hall, 1968), p. 309.

215 the Night of the Long Knives:
Jerusalem Post,
February 17, 1965.

215 Wilted by the onslaught: Kurzman,
Ben-Gurion, Prophet of Fire,
p. 447.

1. “He made excuses for her”: Author interview with Yitzhak Navon, Decem- ber 30, 2004.
   

2. “It was sad to hear her speak”: Ben-Gurion diaries, February 19, 1965.
   

216 The election campaign was the ugliest:
Jerusalem Post,
May 16, 1965.

216 “Tammany Hall”:
Jerusalem Post,
July 18, 1965.

1. “LIAR!” shouted Golda:
   Jerusalem Post,
   July 29, 1965.
   

2. “It’s hard to teach an old horse”:
   New York Times Magazine,
   April 17, 1966.
   

3. “such an Amazon”: Author interview with Miriam Eshkol, January 12, 2005.
   

1. The Soviets had informed: The impulse for the Soviet disinformation is well laid out in Benny Morris, “Provocations,”
   The New Republic,
   July 23, 2007, pp. 47–51, in a review of
   Foxbats over Dimona,
   in which authors
   

   Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez argue against the conventional wis- dom that the Soviet attempt to push the Egyptians into a show of strength went awry and led to war or, alternatively, that the Russians assumed that the well-armed Egyptians would destroy Israel, cementing the Egyptian- Soviet alliance. Rather, they suggest that the Russians wanted to provoke Israel into a preemptive strike to give them and the Egyptians license to destroy the Israeli nuclear facility at Dimona. Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez,
   Foxbats over Dimona: The Soviets’ Nuclear Gamble in the Six- Day War
   (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2007).
   

2. “U Thant’s ludicrous surrender”: Golda Meir,
   My Life
   (New York: Putnam, 1975), p. 355.
   

219 “It was against all rhyme or reason for a force”: Ibid., p. 354.

1. “She’ll be tougher”: David Kimche and Dan Bawley,
   Sandstorm; the Arab- Israeli War of June, 1967: Prelude and Aftermath
   (New York: Stein and Day, 1968).
   

2. “These two horses cannot be hitched”: S. Ilan Troen and Zaki Shalom, “Ben Gurion’s Diary for the 1967 Six Day War,”
   Israel Studies
   4, no. 2: 197.
   

3. protested that any change in the government: Kimche and Bawley,
   Sand- storm
   .
   

1. “A whispering campaign has been started”: Ibid.
   

2. Realizing that the nation needed to hear: “Eshkol’s Black Sunday,” in Ah- ron Bregman and Jihan El-Tahri,
   The Fifty Years War
   :
   Israel and the Ar- abs
   (London: Penguin Books, BBC Books, 1998).
   

222 “A one-woman stumbling block”: David Ben Gurion,
Israel: A Personal His- tory
(New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1971).

1. “As long as the Old Lady is there”: Slater,
   Golda
   .
   

2. “1 understand the Arabs wanting”: Kimche and Bawley,
   Sandstorm
   .
   

1. Golda drove: Kaddar interview, (56)88, OHD.
   

2. “Again, we won a war”: Peggy Mann,
   Golda
   , p. 227.
   

3. Quirky and intensely: There were numerous examples of Dayan’s wild swings. The most vivid was the position he took on the Egyptian violation of the temporary cease-fire in 1970. In cabinet meetings, he was insistent that Is- rael force Egypt to remove the SAM batteries that the Egyptian army had moved forward, going so far as to suggest that military action was warranted if they refused. Yet having convinced the cabinet to press the United States on the matter and to pull out of the Jarring negotiations, he then publicly declared that Israel should continue talking with the UN emissary.
   

225 “She comes clumping along”:
Newsweek,
March 17, 1969.

1. “Golda knew what power was”: Interview with Abraham Harman, 1981, Golda Meir Library Archives, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
   

2. “You people don’t really want me”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   February 3, 1968.
   

226 When she abruptly resigned again: The attempts to convince her to remain were covered by the
Jerusalem Post,
July 19–26, 1964.

1. “I want to be able to live”: Interview with Golda, Kol Yisrael, July 12, 1968.
   

2. Israelis were stunned:
   Christian Science Monitor,
   July 11, 1968.
   

227 “No one is indispensable”:
Jerusalem Post,
July 15, 1968.

227 “I am not going into a political wilderness”:
Jerusalem Post,
July 16, 1968.

227 “I do not intend to retire to a political nunnery”: Slater,
Golda,
p. 169.

chapter thirteen

231 “Golda is going to replace him”: Author interview with Yossi Sarid, January 2, 2005.

231 Switzerland to sound out Golda: Meron Medzini,
Ha-Yehudiyah ha-geah:

Goldah Meir v
∙
a-h
∙
azon Yis´ra’el: Biyografyah polit
∙
it.
Tel Aviv: Edanim, 1990)
,
chapter 15.

231 Sapir arrived at the prime minister’s residence: Robert Slater,
Golda: The Un- crowned Queen of Israel
(Middle Village, N.Y.: Jonathan David, 1981), p. 175.

1. Miriam Eshkol so despised: Author interview with Miriam Eshkol, January 12, 2005.
   

2. “He will be buried in Jerusalem”: Slater,
   Golda,
   p. 175.
   

3. the “shrew”: Meron Medzini,
   Ha-Yehudiyah,
   chapter 15.
   

233 “She couldn’t wait”: Author interview with Rinna Samuel, December 18, 2004.

233 “Seventy is not a sin”:
Time,
September 19, 1969.

233 “But to Senta Josephtal”: Author interview with Senta Josephtal, January 9, 2005.

233 The latest poll showed: Poll from Public Opinion Research of Israel, Medzini,
Ha-Yehudiyah
, chapter 16

1. At Eshkol’s funeral: Slater,
   Golda,
   p. 175.
   

2. Ha’aretz:
   a major Israeli daily newspaper:
   Time,
   March 7, 1969.
   

1. “milkman became an officer”: Golda Meir,
   My Life
   (New York: Putnam, 1975), p. 379.
   

2. Golda gritted her teeth: Author interview with Eliezer Shmueli, October 16, 2007.
   

237 “I am opposed to a Jewish war”: Transcript of interview with
Time
and
Life
, May 5, 1969, 12.5.1969, from Israel State Archives.

237 “Golda told them all to shut up”:
New York Times
, June 5, 1969.

237 Ever inclined toward the puritanical: Author interview with Eliezer Shm- ueli, September 24, 2007.

237 Like a schoolmarm: Saadia Touval,
The Peacebrokers: Mediators in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948
–
1979
(Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1982).

1. “Conditional party membership is not”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   March 29, 1969.
   

2. “If you could only watch her come”:
   Newsweek,
   September 29, 1969.
   

238 use only 200 words: Author interview with Eitan Bentsur, December 28, 2004.

238 “There was never a mother”: Dinitz interview, Golda Meir Library Ar- chives, UWM, tapes 8 and 9, collection 21.

238 “never seen a more stupid schedule”: Lou Kaddar interview, Golda Meir Library Archives, UWM, tapes 7 and 12, collection 21.

240 Greeting Katherine Graham: Medzini,
Ha-Yehudiyah
, chapter 16.

240 When Senator Frank Church came: Author interview with Marlin Levin, December 27, 2004.

240 How’s your health:
Time,
October 10, 1969.

240 stylish Hermès bag in Paris: Author interview with Miriam Eshkol, January 12, 2005.

240 approval ratings had reached 61: Pori poll,
Jerusalem Post,
March 30, 1968.

1. By July, her approval: Pori poll,
   Jerusalem Post,
   July 19, 1969.
   

2. “She wasn’t there to be”: Author interview with Yossi Beilin, January 4, 2005.
   

3. “These aren’t the lowest-paid workers”: From discussion at Editors Com- mittee luncheon,
   Jerusalem Post,
   December 2, 1972.
   

242 “I will not spend my last days”:
Jerusalem Post,
September 7, 1971.

1. she threatened to send in volunteers:
   Jerusalem Post,
   August 8 and 9, 1971.
   

2. “I simply cannot stand by”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   July 20, 1973.
   

1. “From where will the money”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   April 26, 1973.
   

2. televising on Sabbath: Medzini,
   Ha-Yehudiyah,
   chapter 16.
   

244 Ephraim Kishon: Quoted in
New York Times,
June 8, 1969.

1. “For this they had to make”: Medzini,
   Ha-Yehudiyah,
   chapter 16.
   

2. “If God has to be”:
   New York Times,
   April 4, 1974.
   

245 “I cannot accept the statement”:
Jerusalem Post,
April 5, 1971.

245 “Such a law will create discrimination”:
Jerusalem Post,
November 9, 1971.

1. “I am not religious”: Medzini,
   Ha-Yehudiyah,
   chapter 16.
   

2. tried to avoid the use of a chuppah: ”Plain Talk with Golda,”
   Jerusalem Post,
   December 7, 1972.
   

246 “If I had remained in the Soviet”: Oriana Fallaci,
Interview with History
, (Boston: Houghtonn Miffin, 1976), p. 109.

1. “In Golda, you had”: Author interview with Shulamit Aloni, December 23, 2004.
   

2. “But can she type?”: Slater,
   Golda
   , p. 193.
   

247 a curfew on women: Kenneth Harris interview with Golda,
Midwest Maga- zine,
March 21, 1971.

247 “In a free, egalitarian”: Golda’s remark was made during a debate about es- tablishing minimum quotas for female candidates for office. The con- troversy was covered extensively by the
Jerusalem Post,
especially in June 1973. The quote is from the
Jerusalem Post,
July 12, 1973.

247 Organized feminism: Fallaci interview with Golda,
Ms.,
April 1973.

1. “I’ve never tried to be a man”:
   New York Times,
   March 18, 1969.
   

2. “I’m a realist”: Slater,
   Golda
   .
   

248 “It’s no accident”: Ibid.

1. “the woman who gives birth”: Fallaci interview,
   Ms.
   

2. “If you can’t control the press”: Author interview with Meron Medzini, January 11, 2005.
   

249 “There is one thing they won’t say”:
Jerusalem Post,
January 14, 1973.

249 “very thin-skinned”: Author interview with Naftali Lavi, December 15, 2004.

249 “you felt yourself put in your place”: Author interview with Rolf Kneller, December 28, 2004.

1. Bir’im and Ikrit: Author interview with Chaim Hefer, December 14, 2004.
   

2. Panthereim Schechorim: The best overview of the Mizrahi struggle from the point of view of the Panthers is Sami Shalom Chetrit,
   The Mizrahi Struggle in Israel 1948
   –
   2003
   (Tel Aviv: Am Oved Yisrael, 2004). See also the film
   The Black Panthers Speak
   (2003).
   

3. “Imagine how we felt as we watched”: Author interview with Kochavi Sh- emesh, December 28, 2004.
   

4. “She was our special target”: Ibid.
   

252 “We felt like we were meeting”: Ibid.

1. “not nice boys”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   May 19, 1971.
   

2. “brought deprivation”:
   Yediot Aharonot,
   May 20, 1971.
   

1. “What has happened to us?”:
   New York Times,
   August 1, 1971.
   

2. “A nation at war cannot”:
   Jerusalem Post,
   November 20, 1971.
   

3. The next government, Golda promised:
   Jerusalem Post,
   March 28, 1973.
   

chapter fourteen

1. Golda had left orders: Interview with Simcha Dinitz, Golda Meir Library Archives UWM, tapes 8 and 9, collection 21.
   

2. jarring tones in her recurring nightmares: Amnon Barlizai, “Golda Meir’s Nightmare,”
   Ha’aretz,
   October 3, 2003.
   

258 Nasser decreed that: Gamal Abdel Nasser to the Egyptian parliament, No- vember 6, 1969.

258 Yasir Arafat, the chairman: Arafat interview in Oriana Fallaci,
Interview with History
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1976), p. 131.

258 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia:
Beirut Daily Star,
November 17, 1972.

1. she was ready to go to Cairo:
   Jersualem Post,
   June 12, 1969.
   

2. mocked her offer: Golda Meir,
   My Life
   (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1975), p. 384.
   

1. “by parcel post”:
   New York Times,
   March 19, 1969.
   

2. “We refuse to be a protectorate”: United Jewish Appeal dinner, September 1, 1971, transcript at Israel State Archives.
   

3. “It isn’t a question of, let’s”:
   Meet the Press,
   October 1969, transcript from Israel State Archives.
   

1. “The whole world is against us”: Song by Yoram Tahar-Lev.
   

2. “Milwaukee lost the Braves”: Tad Szulc,
   The Illusion of Peace: Foreign Policy in the Nixon Years
   (New York: Viking Press, 1978).
   

3. UN Security Council Resolution 242: Resolution 242 was passed on No- vember 22, 1967. Full text is available at http://www.un.org/documen
   ts/ sc/res/1967/scres67.htm.resolution 242. Rogers’ plan is well laid out in William Quandt,
   Decade of Decisions
   :
   American Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967
   –
   1976
   (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1977).