Israeli Education Ministry Fails to Properly Monitor Daycare Centers Amid Thousands of Abuse Investigations

A State Comptroller report released on Tuesday revealed that between 2017 and 2024, approximately 2,500 criminal cases were opened on suspicion of abuse in Israeli daycare centers. The report highlights significant failures by the Ministry of Education in supervising these facilities, particularly regarding the enforcement of camera installation requirements intended to monitor daycare activities.

Despite legislation mandating cameras in licensed daycare centers, the Ministry lacks reliable data on which centers have functioning cameras. The report states that beyond a signed declaration from daycare owners about camera installation, there is no verified information confirming actual operation. In the 2023-2024 school year, inspections of 3,321 centers found that 902 (about 27%) had at least one camera system malfunction that prevented proper documentation of events.

The Comptroller also found cases where centers claimed to have cameras that were not operational, as well as licensed centers without any cameras installed. Although the number of inspectors increased to 61 nationwide, they still cannot visit more than half of the licensed daycare centers. Furthermore, while the number of licensed private daycares grew by roughly 40% over three years, as of October 2025, the Ministry had no comprehensive procedures or plans to identify unlicensed daycare operations.

The report criticizes the Ministry for lacking a comprehensive and accurate overview of the severity of incidents, the extent of footage review, and the effectiveness of cameras in detecting improper or criminal behavior. The findings come amid other troubling reports, including recordings of caregivers verbally abusing infants and allegations of daycare managers fabricating break-ins to conceal evidence.