Quotes from Golda Meir


Sorted by Popularity


To be or not to be is not a question of compromise. Either you be or you don't be.


Men who have reached and passed forty-five, have a look as if waiting for the secret of the other world, and as if they were perfectly sure of having found out the secret of this.


There can be no doubt that the average man blames much more than he praises. His instinct is to blame. If he is satisfied he says nothing; if he is not, he most illogically kicks up a row.


I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome.


It is true we have won all our wars, but we have paid for them. We don't want victories anymore.


We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel.


Whether women are better than men I cannot say - but I can say they are certainly no worse.


Let me tell you something that we Israelis have against Moses. He took us 40 years through the desert in order to bring us to the one spot in the Middle East that has no oil!


Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short.


We have always said that in our war with the Arabs we had a secret weapon - no alternative.


The Egyptians could run to Egypt, the Syrians into Syria. The only place we could run was into the sea, and before we did that we might as well fight.


Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.


One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the present.


You'll never find a better sparring partner than adversity.


The dog that trots about finds a bone.


Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either.


Not being beautiful was the true blessing. Not being beautiful forced me to develop my inner resources. The pretty girl has a handicap to overcome.


I must govern the clock, not be governed by it.


A leader who doesn't hesitate before he sends his nation into battle is not fit to be a leader.


Pessimism is a luxury that a Jew can never allow himself.