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Six Days in Jerusalem
There is no war so great, love cannot overcome it.
Jerusalem, 1967, one day before the sudden outbreak of the Six Day War. In Jordanian East Jerusalem, Omar's Muslim family are preparing traditional Kurdish dishes for his older brother's wedding. Meanwhile, across the barbed wire border in Israeli West Jerusalem, Asaf’s Jewish family are also preparing traditional Kurdish dishes for a wedding. Omar slips through the heavily guarded border dividing the city with his Jordanian father’s diplomatic pass, where he meets Asaf in the busy Jerusalem marketplace.
Despite the boys’ searing differences in religion and nationality, their cultural connection sparks a friendship that holds the promise of young love. Slipping across barbed-wire borders, their brief relationship becomes trapped in the flipping pages of history and shifting borders of the Middle East. As Jewish and Arab armies battle across Jerusalem, Omar and Asaf must fight for their own chance at love.
Jerusalem, 1967, one day before the sudden outbreak of the Six Day War. In Jordanian East Jerusalem, Omar's Muslim family are preparing traditional Kurdish dishes for his older brother's wedding. Meanwhile, across the barbed wire border in Israeli West Jerusalem, Asaf’s Jewish family are also preparing traditional Kurdish dishes for a wedding. Omar slips through the heavily guarded border dividing the city with his Jordanian father’s diplomatic pass, where he meets Asaf in the busy Jerusalem marketplace.
Despite the boys’ searing differences in religion and nationality, their cultural connection sparks a friendship that holds the promise of young love. Slipping across barbed-wire borders, their brief relationship becomes trapped in the flipping pages of history and shifting borders of the Middle East. As Jewish and Arab armies battle across Jerusalem, Omar and Asaf must fight for their own chance at love.
259 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 14, 2022
54 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Harry F. Rey
30 books98 followersHarry F. Rey is an author of over a dozen fiction novels. He's a graduate of Penguin WriteNow 2020, a member of the TV Foundation's New Writers Collective 2024, and has been Pushcart-nominated for his short stories.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
Harry's main works include the MM royal drama series The Line of Succession from Deep Desires Press, the queer sci-fi series The Galactic Captains from Nine Star Press, the WWII-era gay historical novel Why in Paris? from Encircle Publications and the historical romance Six Days in Jerusalem.
His debut young adult gay romance - Of Gods and Boys - from Deep Hearts YA recently topped the Amazon teen charts. His other works include the rom-com All the Lovers from Deep Desires and the forthcoming sci-fi thriller The Dorvethan Conspiracy from Rebel Satori Press.
Harry's work has also been featured in anthologies including Not Meant for Each Other from Lost Boys Press and Queer Life, Queer Love from Muswell Press.
Harry can often be found scouring second-hand bookshops for the lost classics of gay literature, which he blogs about on his website and social media.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 24, 2023
Gal kiek per greitai įsiliepsnoja čia jausmai tarp veikėjų, bet jiems 17 ir 18 metų, tai atleistina, pats tas amžius, kai jūra iki kelių, kai viską galima įveikti dėl meilės - religinius skirtumus, tautinį priešiškumą, visuomenės nusistatymą ir primetamas taisykles, net karą. Labai gyvai, vaizdingai čia piešiama Jeruzalė - kultūrų katilas, padalintas į rytinę ir vakarinę dalis, pati meilės istorija vystoma realaus Šešių dienų karo, vykusio 1967 m. tarp Izraelio ir arabiškųjų valstybių: Jordanijos, Sirijos ir Egipto, fone. Prisipažinsiu, kad pradėjusi skaityti pirmiausia patikrinau pabaigą, ar laiminga, nes nebuvau tikra dėl šitos knygos žanro. Sakyčiau ne tik laiminga, bet ir pro rožinius akinius, bet, ech, šiuo metu norisi tokių viltingų ir įkvepiančių pabaigų. 4.5/5
January 10, 2025
I can't believe I left this book sitting on my kindle for over a year. It's such a beautiful story about a time and place I know very little about.
June 15, 2023
3 Stars
Harry F. Rey's Six Days in Jerusalem was unfulfilling for two reasons:
(1) the extraordinary number of words in multiple foreign languages for which translations were unavailable on Kindle; and
(2) even though I've travelled through both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the geography as described in the novel was so confounding that frequently it was impossible to know where Rey's protagonists actually were.
As relatable as Omar and Asaf are, their chemistry alone couldn't overcome the other two problems with what should have been a very good historical romance novel.
Harry F. Rey's Six Days in Jerusalem was unfulfilling for two reasons:
(1) the extraordinary number of words in multiple foreign languages for which translations were unavailable on Kindle; and
(2) even though I've travelled through both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the geography as described in the novel was so confounding that frequently it was impossible to know where Rey's protagonists actually were.
As relatable as Omar and Asaf are, their chemistry alone couldn't overcome the other two problems with what should have been a very good historical romance novel.
February 18, 2023
This book has been provided for free by the authors. The review below has also been published on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Another historical gay romance by prolific writer Harry F. Rey, this time set in 1967, during the fateful six days that redrew the borders of that small and much-contested strip of land many call the Holy Land. That particular time period is known as the Six-Day War, the Setback in Arabic, or, as historians would say, the third Arab-Israeli War. The story starts on June 4, 1967, a day before the preemptive strike of the Israeli forces. Back then, the young state of Israel was surrounded by enemies that simply wanted to erase it from the map: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. The kingdom of Jordan was occupying the West Bank (the lands west of the river Jordan) and the three-times sacred city of Jerusalem, which no Jew was allowed to enter back then. But let’s leave the historical background behind and enter the story.
Eighteen-year-old Omar and his family live in East Jerusalem, not far from the Old Town, the narrow, winding streets and alleys which he knows and loves like only someone born there can do. His father is working for the Jordanian administration; his mother, of Kurdish origin, is currently preparing tons of food for her eldest son’s wedding, helped by her sisters and mother, who have come all the way from their native Zakho (in today’s Irak) for the occasion. When she sends her younger son off on an errand, Omar meets Asaf in the Jewish western part, on the other side of the border. Asaf, seventeen, is looking for vine leaves for his mother, who, as chance would have it, is from the same Kurdish town and also preparing tons of food with her sisters for her eldest son’s wedding (a cleverly invented mirror situation, I daresay).
The two boys hit it off immediately. They stroll around in Asaf’s neighborhood, they sneak into an all but abandoned Christian monastery, they kiss, and they end up in East Jerusalem, in the ruins of a watchtower, where they discover each other’s bodies, and where they also discover… love. The next morning, however, turns out to be a rude awakening as the Israeli military invades the West Bank, and History with a capital H starts rolling over them.
To write about that moment in time, about Israelis and their Arab neighbors fighting for their right to live on that strip of land, is a perilous enterprise. Too many emotions are attached to the whole situation, and if you express an opinion that could be remotely interpreted as taking sides, you will either be pegged Anti-Semite or Anti-Arab. To tell the truth, even while trying to write the succinct synopsis, I was walking on eggshells, so I can only guess how difficult it must have been for Harry F. Rey to compose this scrumptious love story without falling into the trap of painting events and people in white and black. Kudos to the author who masterfully sidestepped that trap, not telling one side of the story, not explaining who has more right to call Jerusalem “their own,” and not dividing any further what is, alas, already so painfully divided. No, author Rey came up with the most beautiful of symbols that tells us that no matter our religion, background, social status, or whatever, we’re all humans. And that symbol is love.
It was heart-warming to follow those—let’s call them boys, because even though Omar and Asaf are eighteen and seventeen years old, in their hearts they still remain clueless, rudderless, unspoiled boys. They both know that they’re different (read: gay) and that their lives risk being difficult for them, given the traditional expectations of their families. That’s probably why they keep an open mind, and when they meet, they don’t question what fate has brought them together, cherishing the moments of young bliss they spend in each other’s company instead. The war they witness breaking out around them both shocks them and fills them with something akin to gratitude—they know that only amidst the ambient chaos will they be allowed to live their blooming love affair, be it for only six days.
Harry F. Rey shared sympathies with both sides, with Omar the Jordanian Muslim and Asaf the Jew, and in doing so, made me like them both. Very much so, I admit. The beautiful symmetry of their families’ origins, the therefore shared customs and mores not only where the food was concerned, was a very nice touch because it also showed how much those two families had in common—much more than what separated them. Talking about separation, it’s telling that the border takes up quite an important part of the story, and it is viewed by both youngsters as what every border should be viewed as, in my opinion - something artificial and inherently stupid.
Maybe the risky topic and setting explain why this novel felt a little bit less well “constructed” compared to the author’s previous books. It certainly was less well proofread (I stumbled upon “heir” when it should have been “air,” and “here” for “hear”; also several missing or repeated words), which I’m not used to when it comes to this author’s work. But the author swept me away with the charming, very sweet story of these two young and unblemished souls meeting and falling in love with each other, which made me even “buy” the insta-love quality of their feelings. It was so cute, so soothing to watch them fall for each other, all the more so as it unraveled before the background of machine guns, fighter jets, and tanks. Add the quaint female characters (oh, Jewish and Arab mothers! And aunts!), the atmospheric descriptions of squares, houses, parks, walls, streets, and the force of Harry’s writing, and you get why I was drawn in and let myself get drowned in that young and, at first sight, impossible love.
A perfect read, which I can only recommend.
Another historical gay romance by prolific writer Harry F. Rey, this time set in 1967, during the fateful six days that redrew the borders of that small and much-contested strip of land many call the Holy Land. That particular time period is known as the Six-Day War, the Setback in Arabic, or, as historians would say, the third Arab-Israeli War. The story starts on June 4, 1967, a day before the preemptive strike of the Israeli forces. Back then, the young state of Israel was surrounded by enemies that simply wanted to erase it from the map: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Egypt. The kingdom of Jordan was occupying the West Bank (the lands west of the river Jordan) and the three-times sacred city of Jerusalem, which no Jew was allowed to enter back then. But let’s leave the historical background behind and enter the story.
Eighteen-year-old Omar and his family live in East Jerusalem, not far from the Old Town, the narrow, winding streets and alleys which he knows and loves like only someone born there can do. His father is working for the Jordanian administration; his mother, of Kurdish origin, is currently preparing tons of food for her eldest son’s wedding, helped by her sisters and mother, who have come all the way from their native Zakho (in today’s Irak) for the occasion. When she sends her younger son off on an errand, Omar meets Asaf in the Jewish western part, on the other side of the border. Asaf, seventeen, is looking for vine leaves for his mother, who, as chance would have it, is from the same Kurdish town and also preparing tons of food with her sisters for her eldest son’s wedding (a cleverly invented mirror situation, I daresay).
The two boys hit it off immediately. They stroll around in Asaf’s neighborhood, they sneak into an all but abandoned Christian monastery, they kiss, and they end up in East Jerusalem, in the ruins of a watchtower, where they discover each other’s bodies, and where they also discover… love. The next morning, however, turns out to be a rude awakening as the Israeli military invades the West Bank, and History with a capital H starts rolling over them.
To write about that moment in time, about Israelis and their Arab neighbors fighting for their right to live on that strip of land, is a perilous enterprise. Too many emotions are attached to the whole situation, and if you express an opinion that could be remotely interpreted as taking sides, you will either be pegged Anti-Semite or Anti-Arab. To tell the truth, even while trying to write the succinct synopsis, I was walking on eggshells, so I can only guess how difficult it must have been for Harry F. Rey to compose this scrumptious love story without falling into the trap of painting events and people in white and black. Kudos to the author who masterfully sidestepped that trap, not telling one side of the story, not explaining who has more right to call Jerusalem “their own,” and not dividing any further what is, alas, already so painfully divided. No, author Rey came up with the most beautiful of symbols that tells us that no matter our religion, background, social status, or whatever, we’re all humans. And that symbol is love.
It was heart-warming to follow those—let’s call them boys, because even though Omar and Asaf are eighteen and seventeen years old, in their hearts they still remain clueless, rudderless, unspoiled boys. They both know that they’re different (read: gay) and that their lives risk being difficult for them, given the traditional expectations of their families. That’s probably why they keep an open mind, and when they meet, they don’t question what fate has brought them together, cherishing the moments of young bliss they spend in each other’s company instead. The war they witness breaking out around them both shocks them and fills them with something akin to gratitude—they know that only amidst the ambient chaos will they be allowed to live their blooming love affair, be it for only six days.
Harry F. Rey shared sympathies with both sides, with Omar the Jordanian Muslim and Asaf the Jew, and in doing so, made me like them both. Very much so, I admit. The beautiful symmetry of their families’ origins, the therefore shared customs and mores not only where the food was concerned, was a very nice touch because it also showed how much those two families had in common—much more than what separated them. Talking about separation, it’s telling that the border takes up quite an important part of the story, and it is viewed by both youngsters as what every border should be viewed as, in my opinion - something artificial and inherently stupid.
Maybe the risky topic and setting explain why this novel felt a little bit less well “constructed” compared to the author’s previous books. It certainly was less well proofread (I stumbled upon “heir” when it should have been “air,” and “here” for “hear”; also several missing or repeated words), which I’m not used to when it comes to this author’s work. But the author swept me away with the charming, very sweet story of these two young and unblemished souls meeting and falling in love with each other, which made me even “buy” the insta-love quality of their feelings. It was so cute, so soothing to watch them fall for each other, all the more so as it unraveled before the background of machine guns, fighter jets, and tanks. Add the quaint female characters (oh, Jewish and Arab mothers! And aunts!), the atmospheric descriptions of squares, houses, parks, walls, streets, and the force of Harry’s writing, and you get why I was drawn in and let myself get drowned in that young and, at first sight, impossible love.
A perfect read, which I can only recommend.
June 24, 2023
Can six days of war be at the same time six days of bliss and rapture? If you ask Omar and Asaf, they can.
“. . . those days of chaos when nothing made sense, and everything had been possible.”
I thank the author of this historical gay romance for the closure different from I expected it to be. I had too many personal partings and losses recently, so adding some sweetness to his story is welcome in diluting the bitterness of reality we face every day.
Inspirational, educational, and heart-warming.
“. . . those days of chaos when nothing made sense, and everything had been possible.”
I thank the author of this historical gay romance for the closure different from I expected it to be. I had too many personal partings and losses recently, so adding some sweetness to his story is welcome in diluting the bitterness of reality we face every day.
Inspirational, educational, and heart-warming.
December 2, 2022
This is the story of Asaf and Omar, two young men who come from different worlds but still fall in love.
Omar is a young Muslim man living with his family in East Jerusalem. He’s cheeky and mischievous, and doesn’t mind pushing the boundaries of the city’s walls. With a diplomatic pass from his father, Omar finds ways to traverse the city and get into some trouble, though he’s a kind boy. While at the shuk to visit his cousin, fate steps in. A beautiful young man comes in looking for vine leaves that cannot be found, but luckily Omar has a solution.
Asaf comes from a long line of brothers, and lives with his mother in the Jewish section of East Jerusalem. He’s sweet and enjoys spending time with the females in his family, and does love to listen to American music and snack on junk food. When he meets Omar at the shuk, he’s instantly attracted.
Asaf and Omar manage to steal a fateful night together, but they wake up the next morning to the start of the Six Day War, when the Israelis engage in a bloody battle with the Arab states.
Asaf and Omar may come from different religious backgrounds, but they aren’t that different, and they absolutely adore each other. But can their love survive while their city is being torn apart?
I love how Harry F. Rey tells historical events from the point of view of people living through it, and while weaving in beautiful romance and friendship. I learn so much reading his books.
Omar is a young Muslim man living with his family in East Jerusalem. He’s cheeky and mischievous, and doesn’t mind pushing the boundaries of the city’s walls. With a diplomatic pass from his father, Omar finds ways to traverse the city and get into some trouble, though he’s a kind boy. While at the shuk to visit his cousin, fate steps in. A beautiful young man comes in looking for vine leaves that cannot be found, but luckily Omar has a solution.
Asaf comes from a long line of brothers, and lives with his mother in the Jewish section of East Jerusalem. He’s sweet and enjoys spending time with the females in his family, and does love to listen to American music and snack on junk food. When he meets Omar at the shuk, he’s instantly attracted.
Asaf and Omar manage to steal a fateful night together, but they wake up the next morning to the start of the Six Day War, when the Israelis engage in a bloody battle with the Arab states.
Asaf and Omar may come from different religious backgrounds, but they aren’t that different, and they absolutely adore each other. But can their love survive while their city is being torn apart?
I love how Harry F. Rey tells historical events from the point of view of people living through it, and while weaving in beautiful romance and friendship. I learn so much reading his books.
August 7, 2024
I really loved the two main characters and though I don’t really know how historically accurate the background and setting were, several things didn’t feel realistic. That being said I did really appreciate this book.
May 31, 2023
This book is very well-written, a coming-of-age romance of two 17 year-old young men set in the backdrop of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Omar, a Muslim, lives with his Kurdish mother and his Jordanian diplomat father. Using his father's diplomatic pass, he fairly regularly crosses over to the Jewish side of the border. There, he meets Asaf in the marketplace. The two hit it off immediately, yet it soon becomes obvious they are also attracted to each other. What seems to be an impossible relationship continues to unfold while war occurs all around them. They are not unaffected, but continue to stick together against the odds. The historical and cultural backdrop provide levels of intense interest, drawing the reader in. The love story of two innocent, yet determined young men is awe-inspiring. This beautiful story is highly recommended.
Read
July 29, 2023A True 5 Star Read
I'm the kind of person who, if I like something, I give it 4 stars. I LOVE this book! I hated it to put it down when I had to, and couldn't wait to come back to it. It's historical, romantic, well-paced, sweet, funny - and informative. That's a real plus for me. My only caveat is that there are way more proofreading errors than I would allow. I wonder whether someone used a computer checking program, because - to cite one example - "window pain" (sic) never should have slipped through! On the other hand, I was so invested in the characters that I kept reading anyway. I'm definitely going to check out some of the authors other novels. (I just hope someone did a better proofreading job on them!)
I'm the kind of person who, if I like something, I give it 4 stars. I LOVE this book! I hated it to put it down when I had to, and couldn't wait to come back to it. It's historical, romantic, well-paced, sweet, funny - and informative. That's a real plus for me. My only caveat is that there are way more proofreading errors than I would allow. I wonder whether someone used a computer checking program, because - to cite one example - "window pain" (sic) never should have slipped through! On the other hand, I was so invested in the characters that I kept reading anyway. I'm definitely going to check out some of the authors other novels. (I just hope someone did a better proofreading job on them!)
January 13, 2023
You can read non-fiction and news reports about events like the Six Day War, but it's entirely different when a gifted fiction writer takes you into the events through characters you come to know and care about. Omar and Asaf, Muslim and Jewish experience friendship, developing love and all the upheavals that go along with their different religions, cultures and what happens in wartime. What struck me most about this book was the way the author captured the conflicting feelings you can have about a place - how much you can love it and people in it even when it doesn't love you back.
December 16, 2022
Harry F Rey is an auto buy author for me. He writes, from the heart, queer books that are thoroughly researched, witty, and sometimes quite hard-hitting. This is a beautifully told story of two boys in the troubled 1960s from different religious and national backgrounds finding a spark of love and a spark of hope.
Highly recommended.
I received an ARC copy from the author and my views are my own.
Highly recommended.
I received an ARC copy from the author and my views are my own.
January 5, 2023
This is the story of Omar and Asaf. Please read the trigger warnings. This book is amazing. I am in awe of the research this author did and I learned such a lot. The love is beautifully written and you can't help but fall in love with Omar and Asaf. Definitely recommended.
I received this book as an Arc and I am happily reviewing it voluntarily.
I received this book as an Arc and I am happily reviewing it voluntarily.
May 12, 2023
Just finished 'Six Days in Jerusalem', a M2M romance between a Jew and an Arab during the Six Day War. Harry Rey writes a convicing story based on intimate knowledge of culture in the Middle East. The historical context is depicted with accuracy and both MCs are endeering. I do recommend 'Six Days in Jerusalem'
April 9, 2025
An incredible tale of love in a war zone. Opposite sides of the fence - literally, these 2 young men meet under unusual circumstances. Funny how opposite conflicting cultures are so similar. A compelling read that had me wondering how it was going to end, almost from the beginning. H.F.R writes a dam good story well.
December 27, 2022
Two very different men on the opposite side of the fence. They even have different religions but they will find each other after one steal their father pass to go across the fence. Will these two have a future? What will happen if they are found out? See how life will treat them
July 31, 2023
This is a beautiful story of two young men finding love. They are from opposite sides yet find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another as a 6 day war commenced. This book is well written, complete with an HEA.
August 12, 2023
What a fantastic book
What a beautiful book the story of these
lads went through twists and turns .
The history lesson made me think so humans ever learn from the past 🤔
Run don't walk and buy you will not be sorry
What a beautiful book the story of these
lads went through twists and turns .
The history lesson made me think so humans ever learn from the past 🤔
Run don't walk and buy you will not be sorry
Read
May 5, 2023DNF @ 21%
May 26, 2023
Sadly, just not for me.
June 29, 2023
Loved the history, plus you get a great love story.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews