Golda Meir: 1898-1978
Her 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...