Nancy Pelosi just cited this poet in her reaction to Roe vs. Wade reversal
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe vs. Wade, which opens the door for states to outlaw abortions, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) addressed the media with a statement that referenced a poem.
“Today, the Republican-controlled Supreme Court has achieved their dark, extreme goal of ripping away a woman’s right to make their own reproductive health decisions,” Pelosi remarked. “While Republicans seek to punish and control women, Democrats will keep fighting ferociously to enshrine Roe vs. Wade into the law of the land.”
Pelosi said she was “overwhelmed” by the court’s decision and quoted the poem “I Have No Other Country” by Israeli poet Ehud Manor, whose writing Pelosi often turns to in times of strife.
“I have no other country even though my land is burning/ Only a word of Hebrew penetrates my veins, my soul/ With an aching body and with a hungry heart/ Here is my home,” Pelosi recited. “I will not be silent for my country has changed her face/ I shall not give up on her/ I shall remind her and sing into her ears/ Until she opens her eyes.”
Here’s everything you need to know about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Roe vs. Wade.
Pelosi ended her public remarks by saying, “Clearly, we hope that the Supreme Court would open its eyes.”
Manor, the poem’s author, was an Israeli poet, lyricist, translator and media personality who was awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest cultural honor, in 1998 for his contributions to Israeli music.
As a songwriter, he wrote more than 1,000 Hebrew songs, including 1978 Eurovision Song Contest winner “Abanibi,” and translated hundreds of songs into Hebrew including the soundtracks of major musicals such as “Cabaret,” “Les Misérables” and “Hair.” He died in 2005.
This is not the first time that Pelosi has responded to worldwide events through poetry or even the first time she has cited this particular poem.
The maternal mortality rate for Black women is already three times as high as for white women. Expect that disparity to grow.
Pelosi also invoked the poem, which is actually the lyrics to a song Manor wrote in 1982, also titled “I Have No Other Country,” in January 2021 as she urged members of Congress to impeach former President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riot.
On St. Patrick’s Day, Pelosi recited a poem by U2’s Bono at the White House’s holiday celebration in which he compared Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to St. Patrick.
“Ireland’s sorrow and pain is now the Ukraine,” Pelosi read. “And St. Patrick’s name is now Zelensky.”
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
