In other times, they would never have met. They come from different corners of Israeli society, rooted in their own beliefs, busy with their own troubles. Farmers and fishermen, skeptics and believers, immigrants and natives, children and grandparents struggle with faith, loss, jealousy, hope — and the turmoil around them only deepens the rifts that divide them.

But when the Israeli government orders all Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip destroyed, Neve Adva — the settlement some of them call home — becomes the unlikely crossroads where all their worlds collide and all their lives are changed forever.

Daniella Levy’s magnificent, richly nuanced novel challenges us to step outside our bubbles and question everything we’ve believed about the Other.

Disengagement is more than just the story of one fictional settlement. It’s about what it means to disengage — from home and surroundings, from friends, neighbors, and family, from opinions and deeply held beliefs. And it’s about how listening to one another and learning from unexpected encounters can help us become connected again.