A Friend Not a Friend

Ro’i lives with his mother—his father died in a road accident before he was born. He is popular at school until a new boy, Kishi, appears. At first Kishi tries to become his friend, but Ro’i doesn’t realize that Kishi is only using him in order to take his place in the class. During the Passover vacation, Ro’i flies to London to meet his ultra-Orthodox grandparents for the first time—years ago, they rejected their son’s marriage to Ro’i’s mother and never had any contact with her.

When he gets back to Israel, Ro’i finds that Kishi is now his enemy and has turned the class against him. Kishi, who is tall and strong and good at basketball, now makes fun of Ro’i, who is shorter. He makes him his punching bag, and none of Ro’i’s friends help him. So Ro’i has to cope on a number of fronts: with the class bully, with social isolation, and with the need to please his grandparents who are pressing him to return to London and take the place of their dead son. Thanks to his inner strength, his honesty and his faith in himself, Ro’i manages to overcome all the difficulties and conflicts. He regains his confidence and finds a true friend, a boy of Ethiopian origin. He also finds an understanding and sensitive girlfriend who loves animals just like him, and finally he meets a father figure—a kindly veterinarian who becomes friendly with his mother and gives new meaning to both her and Ro’i’s lives.