Francine Klangsbrun To Speak On Golda Meir Biography In Forest Hills

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- Nearly 40 years after her death, Israel's fourth prime minister Golda Meir is considered one of the 20th century's most notable women. Author Francine Klangsbrun is headed to Forest Hills to take a look back at that legacy with her new biography: "Lioness: Golda Meir and the Nation of Israel."

The author will be giving a reading and discussion on Oct. 23 at the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills at 1:30 p.m. The center, located at 67-09 108 Street, is requesting an $8 donation to attend the event which is part of the Fall Author Series put on by its Cultural Arts Department.

Golda Meir was is regarded with pride among American Jews, Peggy Kurts, director of the center's Cultural Arts and Jewish Heritage Programs, told Patch. The American Jewish woman was among the leaders of Israel's founding generation and a head of state at a time when few women had achieved such status.

"Nearly 40 years after her death, this seems like a good time to reassess the life of a remarkable, yet controversial leader," Kurts said.

Klangsbrun has authored and edited more than a dozen books. Her biography on Meir reexamined the life of the prime minister who she described as an "iron-willed leader, chain smoking political operative, and tea-and-cake-serving grandmother."

During her time as prime minister, Meir negotiated arms deals with Richard Nixon and had frequent secret meetings with Jordan's King Hussein. She resigned in 1974 a year after Egypt’s and Syria's attack on Yom Kippur, and died of lymphoma in 1978.

For more information, contact Cultural Arts at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151, or at pkurtz@cqy.org or online at www.cqy.org.

Photo of Francine Klangsbrun by Joan Roth.