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On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) in 1973, Syria and Egypt attacked the
state of Israel. Sandwiched between these two heavily fortified powers, Israel
was about to be squeezed to pieces in the boa constrictor of Middle Eastern
warfare. One woman's leadership and planning stood between victory and defeat.
Born in the Ukraine, Golda Meir grew up in the United States and finally immigrated
to Palestine before it became the modern state of Israel in 1948. She lived
through and participated in events that would determine the existence of Israel:
the Zionist movement, the Second World War, the Holocaust (as an observer),
the 1948 war of Israeli independence, the Suez crisis of 1956, the Six Day
War in 1967, the war of attrition and finally the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
When she became prime minister in 1969, Mrs. Meir began to refortify her nation militarily. This was an important decision due to the precarious situation Israel faced as an island in the midst of hostile neighbors.
In the fall of 1970, Mrs. Meir met with U.S. President Richard Nixon, strengthening friendly relations with the United States—a crucial element to success in the Yom Kippur War. The United States would later send airlifts of vitally needed supplies to bolster Israeli forces. Mrs. Meir prepared a "shopping list" of military items on the way to her American visit to make clear the needs of her nation and identify the absolute necessities for survival.
After fierce fighting and intense negotiations, the Yom Kippur War ended as 1973 came to a close.
It was a short war, but in the Middle East, where land is fought for by the foot, not the mile, it was a decisive victory for Israel.
A judge in Israel
Golda Meir is not, however, the only woman leader in the history of Israel. If we step back about 3,200 years, another Israelite woman, from the tribe of Ephraim, took the lead in the land of Israel and faced down an enemy intent on the destruction of her people. Her name was Deborah, and as chief justice and primary leader of Israel she, along with her somewhat reluctant general, Barak, organized and led an expedition that defeated and destroyed Israel's enemy, the "Jabin" (king) of Canaan and his general, Sisera.
The Israelites waged fierce warfare with the Canaanites. God then sent a rainstorm that sunk the heavy, iron Canaanite chariots into a muddy mire. Lastly, a brave woman named Jael put a tent peg through the head of the evil Sisera. The result: Deborah, with Barak, established a moment of relative peace for the Israelites during a period of history characterized by oppression and fear.
The Yom Kippur War and Deborah's war were pivotal to the modern and ancient history of Israel. But apart from national survival, what leadership lessons can we learn from Prime Minister Meir and Deborah, judge of Israel? How did they lead? Who did they lead? And what made them good leaders in the historical scheme of things?
Have a shopping list
First of all, a good leader must know what state things are in and how to
line up priorities. Do we have enough supplies? Are there enough people
on our staff who are competent and able to do their jobs? What is the most
important and pressing action to take?
Prime Minister Meir used her "shopping list" to boil down her nation's basic needs—specifically, in her case, military supplies. She went to meetings prepared, knowing what was needed, what was happening and how to convince others that something must be done.
Deborah went to Barak with a similar list given her by God. In Judges 4:6 she outlines the basic strategy: God wants you to deploy at Mount Tabor, take a force of 10,000 men from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, go meet general Sisera and his overwhelmingly large and fierce hordes of soldiers in battle at the Kishon River, and utterly destroy him! Oh, and trust God to give you victory. Simple, right?
Seek shared goals and vision
Despite Barak's initial wishy-washiness, he accomplished his objective with focus and energy, which brings us to the next point of good leadership: seek shared goals and vision to rally the troops. Deborah also foresaw an unlikely but determined ally when God chose Jael (a Kenite woman who, in turn, had chosen loyalty to Israel) to strike down the enemy commander Sisera.
As Prime Minister Meir recounts in her autobiography, her chief of staff and other advisors within the military counseled her, months before Yom Kippur, that there would be no outright war and that an expensive, precautionary mobilization of Israeli forces was therefore unnecessary.
Mrs. Meir voiced serious misgivings but bowed to their wishes, foregoing the advantage of preparedness. When the fighting really began, however, through her shared vision her generals fought long and hard to victory. A good leader must ride out the bumps and potholes that come from a world of imperfect people. No leaders are perfect, and neither are those they lead. Therefore we must share a common vision that will see us through the hard times.
Be firm, be just
As Deborah shows, a good leader is just, but doesn't mollycoddle those he or she leads. If you are in a position of authority, be a wise, kind and firm leader. Deborah continued to work with Barak even when he refused to square off against Sisera unless she went with him. Barak wasn't instantly fired or demoted to private first class in charge of shield polishing. But there were con-sequences for his hesitation—he was not able to take the credit he should have for the victory over Canaan. The honor was to be shared with Deborah and Jael.
In a culture where a man's honor and worth were measured by his ability to show courage and follow through on an order from God, having a woman (a foreigner at that!) deliver the final blow to his arch nemesis among the Canaanites was a serious bombshell to his dignity. Israel had a lack of decisive male leadership at the time, and as a result the only things holding the nation together were God's mercy and His guidance through Deborah.
It's essential for a good leader to know when it is necessary to be firm and deliver a correction of focus or to lay low and let those being led learn for themselves. Good leaders cultivate good leaders around them while they lead. It's a safe guess Barak didn't do the hesitation act twice. He learned from appropriate correction delivered by God through Deborah.
Take things to heart
A final lesson to learn from these leading women of Israel is that to be a good leader, the kind to whom people turn with respect and affection, you need to take things to heart, to care deeply about and be true to the right goals. When you put your objectives above yourself, you are putting the happiness and security of those you are leading before your own needs.
Both Golda Meir and Deborah the judge were known as mothers of Israel. They cared for Israel like a mother for her child. Deborah described her role in Judges 5:7: "Village life ceased, it ceased in Israel, until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel." As a loving and wise mother, she guided the people of Israel on the right path. Indeed God blessed her work so that for 40 years after the battle, Israel had peace and village life was safe again.
Meeting with the families of soldiers missing in action during the Yom Kippur War, Prime Minister Meir took time from her schedule to mourn with her fellow countrymen. No necessary task is too small to be part of the greater vision, and no leader is too big to participate in a seemingly small task.
Not all of us will serve as a prime minister or judge of a nation, but we will all provide some measure of leadership. Whether we are the CEO of a corporation, manager of a multinational charity or in charge of setting up chairs before church services, serving as a good leader will be appreciated by all of those around us.
Like the Israelis in their tenuous situation in the midst of the Middle East, we, too, as young people of God must be prepared to take up the mantle of leadership as a service to those around us whenever God may assign it, and cheerfully pass it along when He so desires. VT
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Keywords: leadership Meir, Golda, Deborah Yom Kippur war Isael
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