The claim
This alleged Golda Meir quote is often shared in the form of a sharepic: “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you!”
Our conclusion
There is no reliable source. The saying would fit Golda Meir's politics well, but could also come from Benjamin Netanyahu, who has often quoted Meir.
A quote put into the mouth of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir is intended to express the impossibility of negotiations in the Ukraine war. How should the attacked person persuade the aggressor to make peace? The problem with the statement: It is not proven. Nevertheless, it has been repeatedly quoted by supporters of Ukraine since at least October 2022:
“You can’t negotiate peace with someone who came to kill you!”
Golda Meir quote is not proven
As clever as the statement sounds, there is no trustworthy source for this saying either on the internet or in books about Golda Meir. It can't be found in serious quote collections like Wikiquote Gerald Krieghofer from the quote research comes to the same conclusion:
The alleged Golda Meir quote was written in German and cannot be found in English before the German attribution. Even in German, it was only spread on Twitter and Facebook and not through newspapers or books. So this quote is probably a cuckoo quote and I think it is unlikely that evidence will be found in a text or interview by Golda Meir.
Gerald Krieghofer, Quote Research
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A similar quote on the subject of killing and peace can be found in Golda Meir's autobiography:
When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.
When peace comes, we may be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but we will find it harder to forgive them for forcing us to kill their sons.
In: A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography (1973), edited by Marie Syrkin
Even though there are some quotes from Meir with similar content, Krieghofer suspects a mix-up behind the misquote. In a 2014 interview with an Australian journalist, future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Well, I don't negotiate with people who want to destroy me... People who want to destroy you are not candidates for negotiation. You make peace, but only with an enemy who wants peace.”
Golda Meir, Israel’s “Iron Lady”
Golda Meir was the first woman to serve as Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974 and faced many challenges during her term, including the Yom Kippur War, economic problems and political conflicts in the Middle East. Their decisive actions during this period strengthened Israel's position in the region and gained worldwide recognition.
Although Meir was known for her tough stance against the Arabs and Palestinians, she also led negotiations with Arab states to achieve peace. Her historic visit to Egypt in 1971 laid the foundation for later peace talks. Meir is seen as a courageous and determined leader of Israel who led the country through difficult times.
By the way, a biopic was shown at the Berlinale this weekend: Helen Mirren plays the Israeli Prime Minister “Golda” The “Iron Lady” of Israel is not only portrayed as a determined head of government, surrounded by men. Who dares to make her own decisions, even if they are not always the right ones. The film also strives to show the human side of this tough woman: her wit, her passion, her compassion, her down-to-earth attitude - and her fight against cancer.
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Beware of inappropriate quotes - especially if they are not verified
A variation of Golda Meir's saying above is considered one of the "most iconic quotes in Israel's modern history," as Haaretz writes:
Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.
Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.
After extensive research, Jewish Press author Harvey Rachlin is no longer sure whether Meir ever said these words that way. Even if these are quoted in the blurb of the autobiography “A Land of Our Own”. She is said to have made the statement in 1957 at the National Press Club. However, the year is wrong. There was a speech by her at this club in 1956, but unfortunately no recording of it. And the saying didn't appear in the transcript of the speech either. Even with the “When peace comes…” quote (see above), Harvey Rachlin and his colleague Jason Maoz from the Jewish Press now assume that it was never said that way.
Ittay Flescher, author of the Australian Jewish online magazine Plus61J , goes a step further and explains “why we need to stop spouting Golda Meir quotes every time there is a war.” The quotes mean in particular the two with the “Arab children” (in the version children of the former Egyptian President Nasser) and a third:
If we have to have a choice between being dead and pitied, and being alive with a bad image, we'd rather be alive and have the bad image.
If we are faced with the choice between being dead and being pitied or being alive and having a bad image, we would rather be alive and have the bad image.
The message of all three quotes is an assumed binary situation of Israel in which either one or the other occurs: kill or be killed, wipe out the enemy or become a victim of genocide. This assessment was perhaps before the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War, as Ittay Flescher writes. But at least a third way should have been conceivable since 1978: At that time, Jimmy Carter (USA), Anwar as-Sadat (Egypt) and Menachem Begin (Israel) signed the Camp David Peace Agreement together. A peace that has lasted.
Golda Meir in the Ukrainian War
Golda Meir was Israeli Prime Minister until 1974 and died in 1978. Her most famous sayings come from a time when Israel and its neighbors resolved conflicts through military means. However, she was born in 1898 in Kyiv, which was then part of the Russian Empire. During the current war with Russia, she is considered by some in Ukraine to be the second most famous and popular Jewish person after President Zelensky.
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The following saying by Benjamin Netanyahu also goes back to Golda Meir: “If the Arabs would lay down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews laid down their weapons today, there would no longer be Israel.” In the current war it was rewritten and there is now talk of Russia and Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also recently took up the quote:
Conclusion: The quote “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you” is attributed to former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and also fits well with the hard line she took towards her Arab neighbors. However, the saying is not guaranteed, but it could also have come from Benjamin Netanyahu, who often quoted Meir, but not always verbatim and by name.
Sources: Quotation research blog (Gerald Krieghofer), Wikiquote , Haaretz , Plus61J , Times of Israel , Foreign Office on Facebook, Tagesspiegel , Herald Sun , Twitter
Golda Meir: A Land of Our Own – An Oral Autobiography (1973), edited by Marie Syrkin
Current fact checks:
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