Did Golda Meir say: “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you”?

In October 2023, a statement by the former Prime Minister of Israel began to be frequently cited by Internet users in connection with the attack on Israel by the Hamas group and the subsequent military response of the Jewish state in the Gaza Strip. We decided to check if Golda Meir said anything similar.

The phrase attributed to Golda Meir was quoted on many social networks after the start of Israel’s new war with Hamas. So, a post in the Telegram channel “City of Foolov", where these words are placed at the beginning, received 189,000 views at the time of writing this analysis. The quote was mentioned on the Internet before - for example, after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including Facebook, TikTok, Twitter And "VKontakte"

Golda Meir served as Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 to 1974, before which she was Minister of Foreign Affairs (1956–1966). Its government had to endure two major tragedies in the history of the country. In 1972, Palestinian terrorists taken hostage, and then killed Israeli athletes and coaches at the Munich Olympics. And in 1973 there was Yom Kippur War, when a coalition of Arab states (Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Jordan) attacked Israel. Golda Meir became famous for her tough position towards Palestinian terrorists - in particular, she ordered the launch of OperationWrath of God", during which most of the organizers of the Munich terrorist attack were killed.

Golda Meir left behind detailed memories (published under the title “My Life”), in which she outlined not only her own biography, but also her system of views, including on relations with the Palestinian Arabs. But the phrase about peace and negotiations, which is often quoted among her quotes, is not in this book.

However, a very similar quote, although said in different words, can be found in administration materials US President. On December 19, 1975, Golda Meir, who had already left big politics, met in the Oval Office of the White House with President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Ford began the conversation by talking about progress in peace negotiations in the Middle East. By that time, Israel had won the Yom Kippur War and achieved direct negotiations with Egypt. Golda Meir responded by talking about her concern about the very fact of dialogue between the world community and the Palestine Liberation Organization led by Yasser Arafat, since the PLO was behind most of the terrorist attacks against Israelis. And then she said the following phrase: “We can negotiate with our neighbors. As soon as they themselves want it, we can agree instantly. But we cannot negotiate with terrorists who just want to destroy us.”

The earliest “Verified” mention of the quote found in the wording in which it became popular on social networks is a post in Facebook dated May 12, 2021. After this, the phrase began to spread across blogs. It was probably originally a free translation or retelling of the real words of the Israeli Prime Minister, because in general the quote that went viral corresponds to what Golda Meir said and her political position.

Cover photo: Library of Congress

Mostly true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Did Israel's UN representative say that his countrymen were killing Palestinians because they threw stones at them?
2. Is it true that The Independent newspaper published such a front page dedicated to the war between Israel and Hamas?
3. Is the video true that Hamas thanked Ukraine for the arms transfer?