Oct. 18, 2017 By Tara Law
A veteran writer and journalist will visit Forest Hills next week to present her biography of Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel who was also known as the “Iron Lady.”
Francine Klangsbrun will be discussing her recently-released book “Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel” on Oct. 23 at the Central Queens Y at 1:30 p.m. The event is part of the Y’s Fall Author Series.
Meir was born in Kiev in czarist Russia, grew up in Milwaukee and moved to Palestine in 1921 where her political career took off with the help of David Ben-Gurion.
She was a staunch Zionist, and rose to become the first female Prime Minister of Israel. In her time, Meir negotiated with Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger and often dealt with King Hussein of Jordan.
But her career ended in tragedy when Israel was unprepared for Egypt’s and Syria’s surprise attack on Yom Kippur in 1973.
Klagsbrun is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day and Married People: Staying Together in the Age of Divorce.
Francine Klagsbrun
She is a regular columnist for The Jewish Week, a contributing editor to Lilith, and on the editorial board of Hadassah magazine. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, and Ms. Magazine.
Peggy Kurtz, the Y’s director of Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Programs, said she was interested in hosting a discussion about a figure important to many American Jews.
“Nearly forty years after her death, this seems like a good time to reassess the life of a remarkable, beloved, yet controversial leader,” said Kurtz.
The Y is located at 67-09 108 Street. An $8 donation is suggested.
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