Golda Meir

We have to be strong. We have no other choice.

I don't understand why people are so surprised that I'm a woman. I've been a woman all my life.

If I had to choose between being a good Jew and a good Israeli, I would choose to be a good Jew.

There were no such thing as Palestinians. When was there an independent Palestinian nation with a Palestinian state? It was Southern Syria, wasn't it? I am a Palestinian. We were born in Palestine. We had Palestinian citizenship. When I came here, it was the British Mandate of Palestine.

We don’t want to be better than the Arabs. We only want to be ourselves. And that is better than the Arabs.

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

To be a leader, you must be able to make decisions. And if you can't make decisions, you're not a leader.

I must tell you that I've never been sorry that I'm a Jew. I'm sorry for those who aren't.

I don't mind if I'm called a bitch. I'm a good bitch.

We are a small country, and we have to be tough.

We have to fight for our existence. It's not a question of ideology; it's a question of life and death.

The world doesn't like Jews. That's a fact. And we have to live with it.

We have always said that in our country there are no Arabs, there are only citizens.

I am a sabra, but I was born in Kiev.

We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new tree is planted.

I never felt that being a woman was a disadvantage. The only disadvantage was that I couldn't wear trousers.

I am not and never have been a man. I am a woman.

One cannot be a leader unless one is a mother.

I believe in miracles. I believe in Israel.

We don’t have to apologize for our existence.