A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday extended by three days the detention of a daycare manager and a caregiver who were arrested a day earlier following the deaths of two infants at an unlicensed daycare where they worked in the city. A police representative, who had sought a six-day extension, testified that he was shaken by what he saw at the scene.
“I was present yesterday at the site. It was a private apartment operating illegally,” he said. “What I saw showed clear neglect, with none of the basic conditions required to operate such a sensitive facility.”
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Haredi protest in Jerusalem following the hearing on infant autopsies
(Photo: Idan Bloemhof)
Israel’s Supreme Court is set to hear a petition filed by the ZAKA rescue organization against the autopsies of the infants who died in the tragedy. The hearing is scheduled for 3 p.m. before Justices Alex Stein, Ruth Ronen and Yechiel Kasher. ZAKA initially filed the petition on behalf of the family of Aaron “Ari” Katz, a 6-month-old baby, and was later joined by the family of Leah Golubenchik, who was 3 months old.
During the detention hearing, the police representative said there was “a clear indication that, for some reason, the suspects allowed infants to be placed inside a bathroom and to lie under a toilet on mattresses.” He said this suggested deliberate planning to place a baby there. According to police, the suspects claimed the baby had likely crawled into the bathroom unnoticed.
“It is hard to believe he crawled there and brought a mattress with him,” the officer said. “A child of that age should not be in a bathroom.” He added that if this version were true, it would be even more serious, as the baby could have stood up, leaned on the toilet and fallen headfirst into it.
Haredi riots in Jerusalem
(Video: Police Spokesperson)
The officer said investigators launched special investigative measures upon arriving at the scene to determine the circumstances of the deaths. One of the suspects told police she had been running the daycare for 30 years without a license and without being registered with tax authorities. She said that while the awake infants were under her supervision, the others slept in cribs or strollers placed around the apartment, and that she checked on them periodically.
He added that multiple agencies became involved, including the Education Ministry, which confirmed the daycare was operating without a license and that a closure order was issued after the incident. He also noted that a special conference was held last week in the neighborhood to begin a process of certifying unregulated daycares, but the woman who ran the daycare did not attend.
Disorder resumes
As the court hearing took place, hundreds of ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrated on Bar-Ilan Street and Bar-Lev Boulevard in Jerusalem against plans to perform autopsies on the infants’ bodies. During the protest, rioters were recorded attacking an elderly man and throwing him onto the road. Protesters also blocked roads with stones, and one suspect was arrested. Police used a water cannon in an effort to disperse the crowd.
Footage of public order disturbances in Jerusalem
(Video: Police Spokesperson)
Police said rioters in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh caused extensive damage to infrastructure, uprooted trees, rolled rocks, clashed with and assaulted officers and civilians. “They uprooted trees, set them on fire, threw them and pipes onto the road, and blocked rail and vehicle traffic,” police said.
Police also said they were preparing for an additional protest in the Bnei Brak area, warning of possible traffic congestion and road closures along Route 4 near the Aluf Sadeh interchange and along Jabotinsky Street. Ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, Rabbi Ezriel Auerbach, a leader of the extremist Jerusalem faction, called on ultra-Orthodox Jews “across the country to join the protests.”
Families’ demand
At a hearing Monday night at the Magistrate’s Court, representatives of ZAKA’s legal department, ZAKA CEO Dubi Weissenstern, the grandfather of baby Leah and the parents of Ari Katz opposed the prosecution and police request to perform autopsies. Judge Anat Grinbaum approved the autopsies but issued a temporary stay until noon Tuesday to allow the families to appeal.
Weissenstern, whose organization petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the families, explained ZAKA’s position in an interview with ynet. “The cause of death is also important from a halachic perspective. It is relevant, but we are not convinced that an autopsy at this stage would add findings beyond what is already known,” he said.
“There are sufficient means today, including technological ones, to determine the cause of death,” he added. “All we are asking is to exhaust every possible alternative and to listen to the families, out of respect for the dead.”
He said he had spoken with the families, recounting that one mother told him, “We offered a sacrifice.” “To hear a mother say thank you for four months I had with him, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.
Addressing the fact that the daycare operated without a license or supervision, Weissenstern said, “You need to understand the factual situation.” He claimed the site consisted of three separate daycares or kindergartens, not one facility, adding that the third had a separate entrance some 50 to 60 meters away.
67 released, 3 remain hospitalized
Hadassah Medical Center said Tuesday morning that after overnight hospitalization for observation and monitoring of 43 infants and toddlers, most were discharged from Hadassah Mount Scopus and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals in good condition. Three infants remained hospitalized at Hadassah Ein Kerem with mild winter illnesses unrelated to the incident.
Shaare Zedek Medical Center said all 27 infants and toddlers admitted to its pediatric ward for observation were discharged in good condition after comprehensive testing.
The tragedy occurred Monday at a private, unlicensed daycare in Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood. Leah and Aaron died, and initial investigative findings raised suspicion, based on physical signs, that one of them died a significant time before emergency crews arrived.
No signs of poisoning were found on the bodies. At the Abu Kabir forensic institute, officials believe the cause of death was dehydration due to an air conditioner set to high heat in the closed room where the babies were kept, though a final determination has not yet been made. Rescue teams who arrived at the daycare testified that an air conditioner was indeed operating at a very high temperature, at a level that could be dangerous for infants.
Violent clashes involving hundreds of extremist ultra-Orthodox protesters were recorded Monday night in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh over the planned autopsies. On Tuesday morning, extremist groups threatened to escalate the protests and distributed posters calling on the public to join the demonstrations.