Early Childhood Care Crisis as Israeli Daycare Funds Are Withheld Over Audit Dispute
Israel's early childhood daycare system, serving hundreds of thousands of families and employing thousands of caregivers and educators, faces a severe crisis this week. Recently, hundreds of thousands of shekels were unilaterally deducted from funds allocated to daycare operators due to extended compliance audits conducted by the Ministry of Education and the Accountant General. This financial holdback comes at a critical time when these organizations must pay salaries for the month to their staff.
The legal department of the Halamish organization issued a stern warning letter on Tuesday to Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Ministry Director Meir Shimoni, and Deputy Accountant General Uri Shasha. The letter, signed by Halamish Chairman Attorney Shalom Nagar and Attorney Arava Bar-El, demands immediate release of the withheld funds or threatens legal action. The dispute traces back to a fundamental disagreement over the audit procedures, which led to a joint meeting on July 24, 2024, involving senior officials from the Ministries of Education, Labor, Finance, and Halamish. At that meeting, the Ministry of Education committed to publishing a unified audit protocol within six weeks, but nearly two years later, no such protocol has been issued.
Halamish accuses the Ministry of Education and the Accountant General of causing chaos and illegal harm to daycare operators by failing to fulfill this commitment. The financial deductions, made on the 7th of the month, directly prevent operators from paying thousands of low-wage employees, risking mass salary delays. This situation threatens the stability of the early childhood system, potentially leading to caregiver departures, disruption of children's care continuity, and daycare closures.
The organization demands that the ministries immediately acknowledge their failure, officially declare that audit findings cannot justify fund deductions without a published, fair protocol, and release the withheld money at once. Halamish has set a 24-hour ultimatum to resolve the issue before pursuing urgent court injunctions. Attorney Shalom Nagar emphasized that punishing caregivers and children for the ministries' failure is unacceptable, highlighting the critical role these workers play in raising Israel's next generation.
