A Rooftop in Jerusalem

"A meditation on the persistence of love and the power of an open heart to transcend seemingly inviolate borders." -Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

When Daniel Jacobs decides to spend his junior year abroad in Israel, he never dreams he'll fall in love with both Jerusalem's Old City and an Israeli woman, Shoshana. It's the year religion becomes a part of his identity, from the heights of a simple rooftop. A year he encounters the tragic complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. A year that begins a four-decade-long love affair, as complicated and heartbreaking as the political conflict with which it's intertwined. As Daniel moves through life-through marriage and divorce, career and travel-he returns periodically to Jerusalem, where his heart faithfully remains.

A Rooftop in Jerusalem brings the Old City's walls, holy sites, and inhabitants to life, while putting a human face on headlines from the Middle East.

"A meditation on the persistence of love and the power of an open heart to transcend seemingly inviolate borders." -Yossi Klein Halevi, author of Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

". . . a lyrical, evocative work of great transcendence and heartbreak." -Philip Graubart, author of Here There is No Why and Women and God

". . . particularly relevant in these days when so many are embracing simplistic pronouncements about the seemingly eternal conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is a book that insists upon, and engages us with, the humanity of people in a place too often reduced to symbols and slogans." -Wayne Karlin, author of The Genizah and Memorial Days

". . . an ode to the ancient, divided city of Jerusalem, a lamentation for the sadness and suffering to which it has borne witness, and a love story that breaks our hearts and restores our hope at the same time." -Stephen A. Seche, author of The Silversmith's Secret

"Rich with historical depth and political nuance, A Rooftop in Jerusalem movingly tells the story of an interfaith love affair while doubling as a tenderly written guide to Old City Jerusalem." -Robert Kehlmann, author of The Rabbi's Suitcase

". . . an insightful story for these current times."-Beth Dotson Brown, author of Rooted in Sunrise

"A masterpiece of fiction and a memorial to youth, love, and theology." -Miranda Faye Dillon, award-winning author of The Unshatterables

MICHAEL KINNAMON is the author of two previously published novels: Summer of Love and Evil (2021) and The Nominee (2024). Prior to his career as a novelist, he was a widely respected professor of theology, author of numerous books on ecumenical and interfaith relations, and general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the US. A Rooftop in Jerusalem draws on his extensive experience in the Middle East. Dr. Kinnamon and his wife, Mardine Davis, an art consultant, live in San Diego.

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