Ariel Municipality Offers Support to Families Affected by Daycare Abuse Scandal

Israel's Minister of Education Yoav Kisch and Ariel Mayor Yair Stubbon met with parents of the "Luchik" daycare center in Ariel on Thursday to discuss support measures following a severe abuse scandal. The meeting, also attended by municipal education and welfare representatives, resulted in an agreement to expand services for affected families. These include integrating children who are outside the typical age range into municipal kindergartens and bolstering the city's counseling services.

The city of Ariel has been implementing a comprehensive support system for the families since the case was exposed. This includes a dedicated hotline for parents, support group meetings with professionals from education, welfare, and psychological services, and individual therapy sessions. Additionally, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, a safe space with educational and therapeutic staff has been established to provide a secure environment for both parents and toddlers.

In parallel, the municipality is actively working to establish a new daycare facility to accommodate the infants and toddlers left without educational care. The city has allocated a dedicated building and resources for the necessary renovations to obtain an operating license from the Ministry of Education, aiming for a swift opening to provide a safe and stable educational setting.

The scandal, which recently came to light, involves alleged horrific abuse of toddlers by the daycare manager and two caregivers. A prosecutorial statement was filed against the suspects, manager Natalia Kislevsky and caregivers Darina Khalaf and Anna Pagalaksi, ahead of indictment filings. Investigations have identified over 600 instances of violence involving more than ten children during September and October. The daycare operated out of an apartment housing 30 children in two groups: 11 toddlers aged 10 months to 1 year and 3 months, and 19 older children up to age two. Investigators noted that the majority of violent incidents occurred in the younger group, with more force allegedly used on smaller, crying babies. Security camera footage revealed suspicions of cruel acts, including throwing, choking, hair pulling, shaking, and even tying up infants, with some toddlers allegedly losing consciousness.

During their interrogations, the suspects described their actions as a form of "Soviet education" and claimed to have taught each other the methods. They presented it as a way to quiet crying babies, sometimes admitting to their involvement in the footage, stating they believed the conduct was acceptable or unaware it was forbidden, and occasionally attributing their actions to anger.