Israeli police have launched an investigation in recent days into suspected abuse at a daycare center, following a report received at the police station in Modiin Illit that raised concerns of harm to helpless minors.
According to police, the complaint pointed to serious suspicions of mistreatment of toddlers at the facility. As a result, officers opened a formal investigation to examine the allegations.
Shortly after the report was received, police arrested six caregivers employed at a daycare center in the community of Beit Aryeh, and the daycare’s director was detained for questioning.
The suspects, women in their 20s through 40s who are residents of Beit Aryeh, were taken in for interrogation. Police are expected to ask the court to extend their detention as the sensitive investigation continues.
Authorities emphasized that the probe is ongoing and that all actions are being taken to fully clarify the serious suspicions surrounding the alleged abuse of the children.
{Matzav.com}
The IDF announced that it is moving to trim excess reserve deployments after the government directed the military to limit how many reservists may be on active duty this year, while pledging that the benefits provided to those who do serve will remain intact, Times of Israel reports.
During the height of the war, roughly 300,000 reservists were mobilized. Prior to the latest budget decisions, the military had anticipated calling up about 60,000 reservists in 2026 for routine assignments. In December, however, Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed as part of the state budget to restrict the daily number of active reservists in 2026 to 40,000, a step they say will save billions of shekels.
According to the IDF, the reductions will focus on positions it considers nonessential, including full-time reservists assigned to bolster civil defense teams in border communities, along with certain roles at headquarters.
The military also said it will shorten the length of routine reserve duty — excluding emergency call-ups — reducing the requirement from 72 days to 55. In addition, several practices adopted after the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, will be discontinued.
At the same time, the IDF emphasized that benefits for reservists who serve extended periods will not be cut. Under the revised framework, many benefits will now be provided after 45 days of reserve duty, which the military says is meant to discourage unnecessary extensions of service beyond that point and encourage reservists to return to their civilian employment.
Extended and repeated reserve mobilizations during the war drew sharp criticism from the Finance Ministry, which argued that the approach reflected inefficiency and significant waste of funds within the military.
As part of efforts to prevent the use of surplus reservists, the IDF said units will no longer be allowed to recruit reserve soldiers through social media advertisements, a method that became common during the war. In many cases, reservists would finish an assignment in one unit and then join another to continue serving.
Under new army rules, reservist recruitment will be permitted only through an official military website, a change intended to stop reservists from moving between units without proper oversight.
The military is also ending the practice known as “hybrid service,” in which reservists fulfill their military duties while simultaneously maintaining their civilian jobs, sometimes on a week-on, week-off schedule.
Beyond financial considerations, the IDF said the week-on, week-off model has undermined unit cohesion, as some soldiers never actually serve alongside those designated as their teammates.
The overall direct cost of the war has been estimated at approximately NIS 220 billion ($67 billion), with roughly NIS 50–70 billion of that total spent on mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reservists for lengthy periods.
{Matzav.com}
The Israel Prison Service has started moving forward with operational planning tied to proposed legislation that would allow the death penalty for terrorists, following the bill’s approval in its first Knesset reading.
A report by Channel 13 News said the preparations focus on building a structured logistical and administrative system, including the creation of a secure, secluded compound designated specifically for executions. Within the prison system, the planned site has reportedly been nicknamed the “Israeli Green Mile,” echoing the well-known American film centered on death row inmates.
According to the report, the facility would be designed for executions by hanging, with the process carried out at the same moment by three prison officers.
Only officers who volunteer would be eligible to take part, and those selected would receive dedicated training to prepare them for the emotional and professional complexities involved.
Channel 13 further reported that executions would take place within 90 days of a final court decision. At the outset, the measure would be applied to Hamas Nukhba force terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre, with the scope later expanded to include terrorists convicted of especially grave attacks in Judea and Samaria.
As part of the groundwork, the Israel Prison Service is also expected to send a delegation to an East Asian country to examine how the death penalty is administered there, focusing on the legal framework, operational procedures, and ethical considerations in systems where capital punishment is carried out under formal regulation.
{Matzav.com}
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Rav Moshe Hillel Hirsch personally called the wife of yungerman Rav Avraham Ben Dayan late Sunday night to offer chizuk and encouragement after her husband was taken into military custody, just four months after the couple’s wedding.
According to the report, the Rosh Yeshiva spoke with the young woman and sought to calm her fears following her husband’s transfer to the military police.
During the conversation, Rav Hirsch offered a clear reassurance regarding the length of the detention. “With Hashem’s help, they will do the maximum that can be done. With Hashem’s help, he will be released in a few days,” the Rosh Yeshiva told her.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Reb Avraham, a talmid of Yeshivas Me’or HaTalmud, had been sentenced to ten days of detention in a military prison.
The incident that led to the arrest occurred over the past Shabbos, when Reb Avraham was visiting the community of Tifrach. While there, he was stopped by a traffic officer on suspicion of a traffic violation. During the check, the officer determined that Reb Avraham had been classified as a “deserter” after failing to report to the draft office. He was taken to a local police station and subsequently transferred to the military police.
In the wake of the arrest, the case has sparked strong reactions within the chareidi community. Separate claims by the family alleged that the army prevented the detained yungerman from putting on tefillin on Sunday, an allegation that prompted the IDF to say it is examining the details of the complaint.
Public anger over the arrest spilled into the streets on Sunday night, when hundreds of protesters blocked the entrance to the police station and Route 241 at the entrance to the city of Ofakim. Police forces dispatched to the scene arrested three demonstrators and used crowd-control measures to disperse the protest, including stun grenades.
{Matzav.com}
Anger has swept through the chareidi public following revelations surrounding the arrest of a 23-year-old yungerman who was transferred to military police custody on Motzaei Shabbos, with his family alleging severe mistreatment that included preventing him from putting on tefillin and misleading them about his whereabouts. Senior Knesset member Moshe Gafni warned that “this will not pass quietly.”
The case, detailed extensively in the Israeli daily Yated, has raised serious accusations of callous and harmful conduct by law enforcement authorities toward the detainee and his family.
The incident began when Reb Avraham Ben Dayan, a talmid of Yeshivas Me’or HaTalmud who married just months ago, was stopped for a routine check by police in southern Israel. After authorities determined that he was listed by the army as a deserter, he was transferred to the military police. According to family accounts, what began as a standard arrest quickly escalated into a prolonged ordeal. Relatives who rushed to the scene brought his tefillin with them, but say officials categorically refused to allow him to put them on.
Beyond the religious violation, the report describes what the family says was deliberate deception. According to their account, Avraham was moved repeatedly throughout the night from one station to another—first from Netivot to Ofakim, and then to Sde Teiman—while each time the family was given incorrect information about his location. This, they say, prevented them from seeing him or delivering basic personal items.
Ultimately, Ben Dayan was tried in an expedited proceeding and sentenced to ten days of detention in a military prison. The episode sparked sharp reactions within the political system. Knesset member Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, condemned the incident in unusually strong terms.
“This avreich was arrested for no wrongdoing, and according to the family he was not allowed to put on tefillin,” Gafni said. “This is an army that calls itself a Jewish army, and they prevent a ben yeshiva from putting on tefillin.” He added, “This will not pass quietly. I will turn to the defense minister, and I will not let this hatred toward anything connected to Judaism pass as routine.”
Avraham’s attorney, Shlomo Hadad, has filed an appeal against the sentence in an effort to secure his prompt release, as scrutiny over the conduct of the authorities continues to intensify.
{Matzav.com}
