In recent years, there’s been a revival of interest in Golda Meir, both in the US and in Israel. A new movie about Golda is due to be released this summer starring Helen Mirren, and a TV series produced by Barbra Streisand is in production. In Israel, after many decades of deliberate disregarding her term of office as a prime minister her legacy as a state’s woman and labor minister is being re-examined and gaining recognition. Furthermore, in contemporary pop culture her figure appears frequently, suggesting a new role model in a gender aware society. In this session, join us as we explore why Golda ran away from her parents’ home in Milwaukee to live with her sister Shayna, brother-in-law Sam at a certain modest brick duplex located at 1606-1608 Julian Street in Denver, Colorado. The importance of Golda’s Denver experience is documented in her 1975 autobiography My Life, where she states, “It was in Denver that my real education began…”. Through the examination of unique artifacts from the Denver house, including pictures and documents, we will explore Golda’s political legacy as a one of the only woman diplomats at the time and her relevance to today’s culture.

Since 2016, Sophia Berry has been working as an Assistant Curator of Modern Art at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (TAMA). Currently, she is on a two-year sabbatical in Denver, CO. Her position at TAMA includes responsibilities of managing exhibitions from our collections and external loans, researching the Museum’s collections, overseeing outgoing loans, writing catalogue texts, and leading restoration projects. Sophia’s latest project was a special exhibition of works by Amedeo Modigliani in honor of the centenary of his death. Sophia has also curated a special display dedicated to Joseph Israel’s From Darkness and Light (1871), which was recently discovered to have been Jewish property before the War.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Adath Jeshurun (Elkins Park, PA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth David (Westminster, CA),Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Temple Judea of Laguna Woods, CA, The Boston Synagogue (Boston, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)