'Golda' trivia and fun facts
Golda's youth
British actress Helen Mirren, plays Golda Meir, the prime minister of Israel, with an American accent. Meir was born in Ukraine and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after her family immigrated to America when she was just eight years old. She attended Fourth Street School, now named after Golda and it's called Golda Meir School for Gifted and Talented Students. Golda stayed in America until her twenties, when she immigrated to the land known as Palestine back then.
Characterization
Helena Mirren had to spend three and a half hours in make-up in order to turn into Golda.
The cabinet room
The cabinet room is an exact replica from the meeting room which resides in the Kirya base in Tel-Aviv currently. The house was built in 1930 by a couple who run away from the country after de second world war, when the british military ceased. In 1948, David Ben-Gurion decided that it will turn into the official residence of the government. Onward, in 2006, after the last term of Arielle Sharon as prime minister, the official residence of the government moved from the house and after being preserved and renovated is currently being used as a visitor centre for the IDF staff.
"Who by Fire"
The song at the end of the movie is titled "Who by Fire" by Leonard Cohen. The song is based in prayer the Jewish said during de High Holidays, mostly in Yom Kippur, called "Unetanneh Tokef" ("Let us speak the awesomeness"). The song is relevant to the movie theme because Cohen visited Israel in October, 1973 to play in a series of concerts, which inspired him to write this piece. The song is also part of his album from 1974 titled 'New Skin for the Old Ceremony". This period of Cohen's career is discussed in a Matti Friedman's book titled "Who by Fire".