The Only Woman in the Room - by Pnina Lahav

About the Book

"One of the founders of the state of Israel, Golda Meir (1898-1978) was Israel's ambassador to the USSR in 1948-49, subsequently served as Israel's Minister of Labor and Foreign Minister, and in 1969 became Israel's fourth Prime Minister. Born to poor and uneducated parents in Kiev as Golda Mabovitz and raised in Milwaukee, she settled in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1917. American Jews of an older generation cherish memories of her as an affable, grandmotherly head of state, a mesmerizing speech maker, a tough negotiator with the likes of Nixon and Kissinger, and as a sort of mother of the Jewish people. However, public memory of her is much more equivocal in Israel, partly due to misogynistic strains in Israeli political culture and to her perceived failures as Prime Minister during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the conflict that arguably led to her resignation and withdrawal from politics. This biography of Golda Meir explores the evolution of her political persona from her teenage years until her death, focusing in particular on her ever-recurring role as the only woman in a room full of male political actors. Pnina Lahav reexamines the story of Golda Meir's early passion for socialist Zionism, her decision to marry early, her separation from husband Morris Meyerson, her decision to leave her children in the care of others in order to pursue her political ambitions, and her conduct first in the Israeli cabinet and then as the country's Prime Minister. Often derided and humiliated by the men with whom she had to work, Golda Meir had her own complicated issues with gender and showed clear signs of having internalized the masculine ideals of the twentieth-century Zionist leadership (as when, for example, she derided her colleague and fellow cabinet minister Abba Eban, a cultivated, highly-educated man, as 'effeminate'). And like another notable twentieth-century female political leader, Margaret Thatcher, she was less than supportive of younger women who wanted to follow in her footsteps. While Golda Meir has been the subject of several biographies, Lahav's is unique in its exploration of Golda's complicated and evolving relationship to her identity as a woman, particularly one who ascended to the apex of a patriarchal power structure"--

Book Synopsis

A feminist biography of the only woman to become prime minister of Israel

In this authoritative and empathetic biography, Pnina Lahav reexamines the life of Golda Meir (1898-1978) through a feminist lens, focusing on her recurring role as a woman standing alone among men. The Only Woman in the Room is the first book to contend with Meir's full identity as a woman, Jew, Zionist leader, and one of the founders of Israel, providing a richer portrait of her persona and legacy.

Meir, Lahav shows, deftly deflected misogyny as she traveled the path to becoming Israel's fourth, and only female, prime minister, from 1969 to 1974. Lahav revisits the youthful encounters that forged Meir's passion for socialist Zionism and reassesses her decision to separate from her husband and leave her children in the care of others. Enduring humiliation and derision from her colleagues, Meir nevertheless led in establishing Israel as a welfare state where social security, workers' rights, and maternity leave became law. Lahav looks at the challenges that beset Meir's premiership, particularly the disastrous Yom Kippur War, which led to her resignation and withdrawal from politics, as well as Meir's bitter duel with feminist and civil rights leader Shulamit Aloni, Meir's complex relationship with the Israeli and American feminist movements, and the politics that led her to distance herself from feminism altogether.

Exploring the tensions between Meir's personal and political identities, The Only Woman in the Room provides a groundbreaking new account of Meir's life while also illuminating the difficulties all women face as they try to ascend in male-dominated fields.

Review Quotes

"The Only Woman In The Room by Pnina Lahav, a retelling of the life of Golda Meir, Israel's first and thus far only female prime minister, is a compelling account of Meir's life, thought and politics."---Stephen Bush, Financial Times

"The Only Woman in the Room: Golda Meir and Her Path to Power, is more than the life story of a woman. It is a narrative about the social and political history of the construction of a society from a feminist perspective--a narrative that links the personal and the political, as well as the personal and the public."---Hanna Herzog, Contemporary Jewry

"This feminist biography of the only woman to become prime minister of Israel is a book which will appeal to the general reader interested in America and Israel."---Colin Schindler, Jerusalem Post

"A witty, engaging approach to a much-studied subject. . . .Lahav provides a nuanced understanding of Meir's life, which throws new light on a great woman often unfairly critiqued by journalists and historians alike."---Julia Neuberger, Jewish Renaissance Magazine

"An intriguing portrait of this most unlikely of influential twentieth-century leaders."---Abe Silberstein, Times Literary Supplement

"[Lahav's] book is an important addition to our knowledge of one of the most significant leaders of the last century."---Matthew D'Ancona, Tortoise Media

"A thoughtful portrait of a complex world leader."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Ground-breaking."-- "Jewish News Life Magazine"

"Winner of the Prime Minister Golda Meir Prize, Golda Meir Institute for Leadership"

About the Author

Pnina Lahav is emerita professor of law and a member of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies at Boston University. She is the author of the award-winning Judgment in Jerusalem: Chief Justice Simon Agranat and the Zionist Century.