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Ehud Manor (; born Ehud Weiner; July 13, 1941 – April 12, 2005) was an Israeli lyricist, translator, poet and radio and TV personality. He is widely considered to have been Israel's most prolific lyricist of all time, having written or translated over 1,000 songs. In 1998, he was awarded the Israel Prize for his exceptional contributions to Israeli music.
Ehud Manor, who had been a heavy smoker earlier in his life, was diagnosed with lung cancer in the early 2000s. Although he recovered, the cancer treatment weakened his heart, and he died suddenly on April 12, 2005, aged 63, of cardiac arrest.
During his career, he wrote lyrics for over 1,250 Hebrew language songs, including "Ein Li Eretz Acheret" (I Have No Other Country), "Brit Olam" (Everlasting Covenant), "Ba-Shanah ha-Ba'ah" (Next Year) which became an international standard, "Zo Yalduti HaShniya" (This Is My Second Childhood), and "Ahi HaTza'ir Yehuda" (My Younger Brother Yehuda). The latter was written in memory of his brother, who was killed during his military service in 1968. Obituary: Ehud Manor – Leading Israeli songwriter behind Eurovision win accessed August 4, 2010
Ehud Manor wrote the lyrics to several Israeli Eurovision Song Contest entries, including the 1978 winner "Abanibi", the 1975 entry "At Va'Ani (You and Me)" with its singer Shlomo Artzi, the 1983 entry "Chai" (Alive) and the 1992 song "Ze Rak Sport" (It's Just Sports). Several of his songs commemorate his fond memories of his childhood in Binyamina, the most famous of which is "Yam'ei Binyamina" (Binyamina Days). Several streets and roundabouts in his native town are named after him and his songs.
Other famous Manor translations were the 1977 musical program "Eretz Tropit Yafa" (lit. "A Beautiful Tropical Country", the theme of which was a translation of Jorge Ben's "País Tropical") which consisted of his translations of famous Brazilian songs, several of which became huge hits in Israel; and the 1982 Israeli television show "Red River Valley" in which he translated famous country music songs, one of which – "John Biryon" (lit. "John the Strongman", a translation of Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John") – also became a huge hit.
Shortly before he died, Manor was chosen to receive an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University in recognition of his prolific activity in the field of Hebrew music.
Manor's songs are the most played on Israeli radio.
On October 28, 2019, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recited a passage from I Have No Other Country during a J Street gala. On January 13, 2021, she again recited lines from the song urging her "Republican colleagues to finally open their eyes" regarding president Donald Trump. Pelosi uses Ehud Manor lyric in appeal to get GOP colleagues to vote for impeachment, The Jerusalem Post, January 13, 2021 On June 24, 2022, she once again recited lines from the song following the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overruled two important cases (Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey) regarding Abortion in the United States. She learned about the song from Isaac Herzog, then the leader of the Israeli Labor Party in December 2016.
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