Paula Ben-Gurion

Paula Ben-Gurion was the spouse of the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion. Born in the Russian Empire, she migrated to the United States at a young age. There she trained as a surgical nurse and became an anarchist. She married Ben-Gurion, despite their disagreements on Zionism, and followed him to settle in Palestine. She dedicated her life to caring for her husband and raising their three children. During the 1930s, she attended the World Zionist Congress in Switzerland. Following the Israeli Declaration of Independence, her husband became the country's first prime minister and Paula served as his spouse. She subsequently became a prominent public figure in Israeli society, communicating with the press and attending public events. She also cared for her husband and managed their household in Tel Aviv, judging who would be permitted to see him and how long meetings would go on for. They retired to the Sde Boker kibbutz in the Negev Desert, where they were buried alongside each other.