40 Steps

In the southern region of Tel Aviv, the municipality has founded a new elementary school called “My Neighborhood,” which will bring together students from diverse backgrounds, including refugees’ children. In an outrageous move, they have cleared half of the buildings associated with the longstanding religious school “Roots” to make room for the new school. The two school principals have been tasked to manage this partnership, which involves bringing together non-Jewish refugee children and Orthodox children at just a 40 steps distance from one another, all while navigating the challenges of a neighborhood torn apart by gentrification, secularization, and calls to expel refugees.