The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Thursday rejected the police’s request to remove the daycare owner and her assistant from their homes in Jerusalem and released them to house arrest.

Instead of the 15 days requested by the police, the court ordered them to house arrest for nine days.

On the other hand, the court accepted the police’s request and ordered a prohibition on contacting the children’s parents for one month, as well as a ban on working with children for a period of one and a half months.

Chani Katz, who lost her baby Ari, z’l, came to testify in court during her shiva week on behalf of the daycare workers.

“I lost my son,” she began. “I’ve known the babysitters for seven years; I sent all my children to them. We’re like family. My children always loved going there. We’re really friends, and I know exactly who they are, and I’m the most anxious mother in Jerusalem.”

She added, “I hadn’t planned to send him to a permanent daycare, and the night before, I hesitated about where to place my precious treasure. I debated between my family and the babysitter, and I decided on her because I was the calmest in the world. The gezeirah was from Shamayim. He had to pass away on that day and at that hour, and Hashem did me a kindness that he wasn’t niftar in my home.”

The daycare owner’s attorney said during the hearing: “At most, there may be negligence here—and why ‘may’? Because even the great and powerful Israel Police, the prosecution, the hospitals, and the Institute of Forensic Medicine still don’t know what caused the deaths of the two children in this terrible tragedy.”

“Since they themselves don’t know, it’s impossible to say whether there was any human intervention. They themselves do not know! She woke a baby to feed her and discovered, to her horror, that the baby was no longer alive. She did everything in her power to help her, and afterwards the other baby as well.”

The cause of the babies’ deaths has not yet been definitively determined.

The police said that they are probing the babysitters on charges of reckless manslaughter and negligent supervision of a child, and on Thursday morning, the police added further suspicions: physical or psychological abuse of a minor, assault of a minor,  and leaving a child without supervision. However, the police did not provide evidence for the new suspicions.

Meanwhile, parents whose children attended the daycare published a public letter on Wednesday expressing support for the babysitter.

In the letter, issued on behalf of parents of children and toddlers who currently attend or have attended the daycare in previous years, the parents described the babysitters’ personal attention, dedication, and responsibility, saying that each child received individual care, meals were provided on time, and parents received detailed daily updates about their children’s day.

The parents further noted that over the years, they were satisfied with the care at the daycare, chose to entrust their babies to the babysitters, and felt a strong bond between the children and the staff, adding that the children’s joy in coming to the daycare and the love they showed for it were clearly evident.

“And all the rumors and suspicions and reports published contrary to Din Torah and against the laws of the state are nothing but lies and delusions published by irresponsible people who are spilling innocent blood,” the letter concludes.

The letter states that since the letter was published quickly, before the court hearing, the list of parents who signed it is partial.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)