Golda Meir - Return To Milwaukee, Zionist Activism and Teaching

Return To Milwaukee, Zionist Activism and Teaching

In 1913, she returned to North Division High, graduating in 1915. While there, she became an active member of Young Poale Zion, which later became Habonim, the Labor Zionist youth movement. She spoke at public meetings, embraced Socialist Zionism and hosted visitors from Palestine.

She attended the teachers college Milwaukee State Normal School (now University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee), in 1916, and probably part of 1917. After graduating from Milwaukee Normal, she taught in Milwaukee public schools.

In 1917, she took a position at a Yiddish-speaking Folks Schule in Milwaukee. While at the Folks Schule, she came more closely into contact with the ideals of Labor Zionism. In 1913, she began dating Morris Meyerson. She was a committed Labor Zionist and he was a dedicated socialist. Together, they left their jobs to join a kibbutz in Palestine in 1921.

When Golda and Morris married in 1917, settling in Palestine was her precondition for the marriage. Golda had intended to make aliyah straight away but her plans were disrupted due to all transatlantic passenger services being canceled due to the First World War. Instead she threw her energies into Poale Zion activities. A short time after their wedding, she embarked on a fund raising campaign for Poale Zion that took her across the United States. The couple moved to Palestine in 1921 together with her sister Sheyna.