Peres: Golda was fearless
President, prime minister speak of Golda Meir's legacy at State service marking anniversary of her death. 'She was the ultimate embodiment of Israel," says Olmert
The State memorial service marking the 30th anniversary of Former Prime Minister Golda Meir's death took place Thursday at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who spoke at the service, said the Meir's name is unjustly synonymous in the public's collective memory with the Yom Kippur War: "Without any military experience, Golda had the sense to choose between the many options and recommendations brought to her by the defense establishment, and her famed chief of staff and defense minister.
"It is easy to have insight in retrospect. Only someone who in a time of war finds himself surrounded by experts and advice knows that at the end of the day you are left with your own thoughts. In times like these you can make mistakes. Even Napoleon and Churchill made mistakes."
Olmert (L), Peres at the service (photo: Gil Yohanan)
"Golda," said Olmert, "is not just about the Yom Kippur War. She was a political animal and a prominent figure in the government. She was a legislator who orchestrated progressive laws, and was the ultimate embodiment of Israel, as a lioness protecting her cubs."
President Shimon Peres also spoke of the woman and her legacy: "When the terrible test of the Yom Kippur War presented itself, and many of us were at our wit's end, Golda the prime minister turned out to be a fearless lioness. She had a fierce belief in our just ways and in our ability to defeat the dangers which threatened our safety."
Speaking of the war's aftermath, Peres added that Meir, though she won the elections which followed the war, "chose to go home with a broken heart, but with her head held high. She continued to advise those who sought her opinion, and in the last years of her life, I was privileged to be her friend."
Golda Meir, concluded Peres, "was not an easy woman, but then again – she never liked laziness or frivolousness in others. She was a brave and courageous woman."
