Golda Meir - A Tribute

In her impressive career as one of Israel's leading political figures Golda Meir held many prestigious posts - Ambassador to the USSR, Minister of Labour, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and ultimately Prime Minister. Foremost in my mind as I think back to this great woman is my memory of her as Minister of Foreign Affairs, in 1958, when she laid down the foundation for Israel's far-reaching program of cooperation and aid for developing countries the world over. To those of us from the Division of International Cooperation (MASHAV) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Training Department (now CINADCO) of the Ministry of Agriculture who were involved in the earliest stages of this program when many countries were in the process of achieving independence, she was a constant source of inspiration and support, giving of her time and thought unstintingly.

An unforgettable experience was the graduation ceremony of one of our very first courses of the Foreign Training Department, held in Kibbutz Degania for students from Sierra Leone. We were anxious to have Golda Meir with us for what promised to be a dramatic occasion - at midnight of that same evening, April 27, 1961, Sierra Leone was to be declared an independent state. Despite the long journey between Jerusalem and Degania and the many demands on her time, Golda did manage to come, bringing her blessings and best wishes for the new state and for the group of young students about to return to their homeland to shoulder new responsibilities and face the challenge of its agricultural problems. Exactly at midnight, in a brief but moving ceremony, the British Union Jack temporarily set up on the stage was lowered from the flag pole and the new flag - green, blue and white - of Sierra Leone was raised in its place, to the fervently sung strains of the anthem of the new-born state.

The guiding principles which she helped lay down formed the basis for the continuing program of cooperation and training in which during the last three decades [Editor: now four decades] tens of thousands of students have either participated in courses here in Isarel or benefited from the work done by Israeli teams sent abroad for on-the-spot courses or special projects.

Whether as Ambassador, Minister or Prime Minister, to everyone in Israel she was "Golda," as she was for the many students she met and talked with. She had a simplicity of manner and a talent for immediate heart-to-heart contact which made it easy to talk to her. In my travels in Africa through the years I met with eloquent testimony to the love and admiration which she inspired - the many children who bear the name Golda.