Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023
Have more Israeli prime ministers been raised in Wisconsin than US presidents?
Golda Meir, the first female prime minister of Israel, spent much of her childhood and her early years as an adult in Wisconsin. She was born in Kiev in 1898— then part of Russia — but her family fled Jewish persecution in 1906, immigrating to America. No U.S. president has been born or raised in Wisconsin.
Meir’s family settled in Milwaukee, where she became a teacher at a Yiddish-speaking school. Meir moved to British-controlled Palestine with her husband in 1921. Meir was heavily involved in the Zionist movement, helping to create the state of Israel following World War II.
When Israel’s prime minister died in 1969, the Labor Party supported Meir as the next prime minister. She served as prime minister until 1974, resigning after the Yom Kippur War ended. She died four years later in 1978 due to leukemia.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- US Census Presidential Birth States and Places With Names of Presidents
- Wisconsin Women Making History Golda Meir
- Wisconsin Historical Society Golda Meir
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
See all fact briefs
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
Learn MoreLatest Fact Briefs
Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel try to repeal the Affordable Care Act?
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025