On a recent call with
#Heroes4Harris, I sang ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ in Yiddish. Let me tell you why.
‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ is an anthem of hope. It was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, two young Jews who wrote the song in English but dreamt it up in Yiddish. Like my grandparents, their parents were refugees who fled many a Wicked Witch and flying monkey, seeking a land where ‘troubles melt like lemon drops.’
But of course, this song has always resonated far beyond the refugee community where it was written. Three decades later, it became an anthem for the LGBTQ+ movement and even inspired the rainbow flag. Tragically, America has always been tormented by a language rooted in hate and intolerance—a language that hates rainbows. A language that doesn’t pray for our highest good but preys on our deepest fears. For the composers of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow,’ this language of hate was embodied by Adolf Hitler. Recent revelations show Donald Trump not just echoing but aspiring to Hitler’s footsteps. Let me be clear: Our parents and grandparents weren’t sent by a White House to defeat Nazis only to see the White House run by them.
We as a nation are ready to turn the page on the nightmare of Trump and move towards an anthem of hope expressed in this great song. And so we stand at a crossroads of languages: Will we speak in hope or hate? Will we sing of dreams or despair? Will America lift her lamp beside the golden door, or slam it shut forever? 🗽
This Tuesday and every day after, let us choose the America that speaks this language of hope. And let us embrace the fact that hope is not just a dream—it drove my grandparents across oceans, it drives us to protect each other, and it will drive us to build that better world, that better home. And let us remember, there’s no place like home. 🏠✨
In the words of my ancestors, Zol zayn azoy. Let it be so.
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