Can you guess the year that this photo was taken? Here are some hints:
- Recognize the woman on the left? You might know her as Golda Meir, but when this photograph was taken, she was still Golda Myerson. The woman on the right is Bess Yura.
- She was in town to help launch the Allied Jewish Campaign (you know, what today we call the Annual Campaign).
- During this Detroit visit, Myerson also solicited for the Israel Bond Sale. Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams purchased the state’s first bond.
And the year is…1951!
Meir was no stranger to Detroit. She visited the city several times as an emissary for various organizations. In 1951, Meir was Israel’s Labor Minister. While she spoke to a number of organizations and groups during this trip, she was invited by Federation’s Women’s Division to be the keynote speaker at their annual G-Day Event (“Great Day for Giving”) on April 29. After the speech, the women took to the streets, going door-to-door to raise money for the Allied Jewish Campaign.
This wasn’t Meir’s last time in Detroit. She would be back in 1956 on behalf of Israel Bonds. Heading the list of Bond purchasers? That would be the Michigan Conference of Teamsters, whose leader, Jimmy Hoffa, was seated on the dais.
If you want to learn more Jewish Detroit history, explore our digital database.
Image: Jewish Federation Photograph Collection, FEDJF.361.3, Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives.