The Only Woman in the Room

A highly competent bureaucrat who conceived the modern Israeli economy, a bungler who mismanaged the Yom Kippur War, or “the only man in the Israeli cabinet” — these are only a few of the many images of Golda Meir that remain etched in Israeli national consciousness. But who was Golda Meir, and how might her story shed light on enduring political and social questions facing the state of Israel?

In this episode, Yehuda Kurtzer speaks with Pnina Lahav, Professor of Law Emerita at Boston University, about her recently published feminist biography of Meir: “The Only Woman in the Room: Golda Meir and Her Path to Power.” They discuss Golda Meir’s political career and the conflicts that shaped it, exploring the complexities of gender, rhetoric, compromise, and power. Listen here:

Identity/Crisis is a weekly podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute about news and ideas.

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