Parents of toddlers who attended a daycare center in Ariel are describing horrifying allegations of systematic abuse after Israeli prosecutors filed an indictment against the facility’s director and two caregivers, accusing them of more than 400 incidents of abuse and assault against defenseless young children during fewer than 40 actual operating days.
In an emotional interview with Kikar HaShabbat, Shmuel and Chaya Gever, whose young son attended the daycare, described their shock upon learning the details of the indictment and accused the facility’s staff of deliberately misleading parents about injuries and behavioral changes that might otherwise have exposed what was happening.
Chaya recalled the devastating moment when the parents obtained the indictment, which contained detailed descriptions of the alleged mistreatment.
“Until now, we only had assumptions and tried to understand the magnitude of what happened from the detention hearings,” she explained. “The moment we received the indictment, which leaked even before the hearing, all the parents were horrified. Anyone who had been in denial was confronted with detailed and horrifying descriptions of abuse. The parents couldn’t remain calm and understandably erupted.”
According to the couple, the more than 400 alleged incidents documented in the indictment were identified through security camera footage beginning September 1. Because of Shabbosos and Yomim Tovim, the daycare had operated for fewer than 40 days during that period.
The parents expressed concern that the alleged abuse might have begun long before the period covered by the indictment and called on police to examine surveillance recordings from previous years.
“We don’t want to imagine what happened there in the months and years before that, and we hope the police will also examine footage from previous years,” they said.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the case, according to Shmuel, was the elaborate system of explanations that prevented parents from recognizing a pattern of suspicious injuries.
He said caregivers routinely contacted parents with detailed accounts whenever a child suffered a scratch, bruise, or other visible injury, offering explanations that appeared entirely innocent.
“There was no way to understand what was happening inside,” Shmuel said. “They operated systematically and made sure we wouldn’t need to speak to one another about any mark or injury.”
He described how parents would receive messages claiming that a child had fallen while reaching for a book, hurt himself on a pacifier, or been scratched by another child. Every explanation was presented reassuringly, accompanied by smiles and convincing details.
As a result, parents had little reason to compare their experiences or question whether the incidents were connected.
Shmuel said even signs that children were becoming reluctant to attend daycare were easily dismissed as ordinary childhood behavior.
“When a child didn’t want to go to daycare, you told yourself that he simply enjoyed being home with his mother,” he explained.
He added that some parents had placed recording devices in the facility, but the caregivers allegedly avoided making noise and appeared aware that their conduct might be recorded.
According to Shmuel, the alleged abuse was ultimately exposed after an instructor witnessed what was taking place and reported it. Only then did parents begin connecting the injuries and behavioral changes they had previously regarded as unrelated.
Chaya described a troubling transformation in her own son’s behavior during his time at the daycare.
Initially, she said, the child eagerly attended each morning. Over time, however, he became withdrawn and exhausted, refused to return after the Yom Tov break, began eating poorly, and frequently woke up screaming during the night.
The family initially attributed the changes to teething or an ear infection.
Chaya said she had only recently begun considering placing a recording device in the daycare herself. According to the indictment, the alleged incidents involving her son occurred toward the end of the documented period.
Beyond their anguish over the alleged mistreatment, the parents sharply criticized Israel’s Education Ministry, questioning how a daycare officially designated as supervised could have experienced hundreds of alleged abuse incidents without intervention.
Chaya said she personally contacted the ministry inspector responsible for the facility and asked how frequently she had visited.
According to Chaya, the inspector responded that she had not yet visited during the current school year because “the year hasn’t started yet.”
Chaya expressed disbelief at that explanation, pointing out that more than 400 alleged incidents had already occurred during the short period covered by the indictment.
When she asked about the previous year, she said, the inspector acknowledged visiting only once or twice.
“Helpless children arrive every day at a daycare that is considered ‘supervised,’ but in practice there is no supervision,” she charged. “Someone there has to be held accountable.”
The couple said the experience had taught them the importance of recognizing behavioral changes in very young children, particularly those who cannot adequately describe what they are experiencing.
They urged parents not to dismiss sudden aggression, refusal to attend daycare, disrupted sleep, or unexplained distress as routine developmental difficulties without investigating further.
“Children at that age don’t lie,” they said. “Even when a child cannot speak, he tells you what he is experiencing through his behavior.”
They also emphasized the importance of communication among parents, explaining that the daycare staff’s individual explanations for injuries had prevented families from recognizing similarities in their children’s experiences.
Had parents compared the reports they received about scratches, bruises, and other injuries, the couple believes the recurring pattern might have become apparent much earlier.
“If we had shared information with one another in real time about every injury and every explanation we received from the caregivers, we would have identified the recurring pattern and discovered what was happening much sooner,” they said.
The allegations remain subject to criminal proceedings, and the indictment’s accusations have not yet been established by a court.
