Quotes by Golda Meir

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

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life.

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.

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart dont know how to laugh either

A story once went the rounds of Israel to the effect that Ben-Gurion described me as the only man in his cabinet. What amused me about is that he (or whoever invented the story) thought that this was the greatest compliment that could be paid to a woman. I very much doubt that any man would have been flattered if I had said about him that he was the only woman in the government!

There is no Zionism except the rescue of Jews.

Old age is like a plane flying through a storm. Once you are aboard there is nothing you can do.

Dont be humble. Youre not that great.

The only alternative to war is peace and the only road to peace is negotiations.

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 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.

Dont be so humble. Youre not that great.

I must govern the clock not be governed by it.

I want to be able to live without a crowded calendar. I want to be able to read a book without feeling guilty or go to a concert when I like.

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

We Jews have a secret weapon in our struggle with the Arabs - we have no place to go.

Show me a sensible person who likes himself or herself! I know myself too well to like what I see. I know but too well that Im not what Id like to be.

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

Can we today measure devotion to husband and children by our indifference to everything else?

Those who dont know how to weep with their whole heart dont know how to laugh either.