After hitchhiking from Paris to Jerusalem, Jordan in 1967, Iris Keltz had to wait three days for permission to cross a U.N. checkpoint into Jerusalem, Israel. That was enough time for this young Jewish woman from New York to meet a Palestinian poet, musician, and world traveler. After a whirlwind courtship of less than three weeks, they married and were planning their honeymoon when the Six Day War broke out. The day Israeli soldiers barged into the basement apartment where the newlyweds had found sanctuary with other Palestinians, Iris was frozen with fear. She meant to cry out, “I’m Jewish, American and these are my friends.” Her silence that day compelled her to write this book.

After hitchhiking from Paris to Jerusalem, Jordan in 1967, Iris Keltz had to wait three days for permission to cross a U.N. checkpoint into Jerusalem, Israel. That was enough time for this young Jewish woman from New York to meet a Palestinian poet, musician, and world traveler. After a whirlwind courtship of less than three weeks, they married and were planning their honeymoon when the Six Day War broke out. The day Israeli soldiers barged into the basement apartment where the newlyweds had found sanctuary with other Palestinians, Iris was frozen with fear. She meant to cry out, “I’m Jewish, American and these are my friends.” Her silence that day compelled her to write this book.