The Knesset’s Education Committee held an emergency joint discussion with the Committee for the Rights of the Child and the Labor and Welfare Committees on Monday, following last week’s tragedy at a daycare in the Romema neighborhood of Jerusalem.

The discussion, chaired by MK Tzvi Sukkot, focused on alarming data revealed by the Knesset Research and Information Center, pointing to enormous shortages in supervised daycares throughout the country.

According to the data, in Jerusalem alone, there are about 55,000 babies and toddlers in unofficial daycare frameworks, with only 21% of babies and toddlers in the city in supervised settings. (The data excludes babies in private daycare settings with fewer than seven babies, which are permitted to operate without official licenses and supervision.)

Jerusalem families are unable to place their children in supervised settings because of a severe shortage of available spots. Some Chareidi neighborhoods lack any official daycares, and even if there is one, there are far from enough spots to serve the entire neighborhood. Additionally, costs for official daycares are prohibitively expensive, especially for large families. Even if slots are available, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara has banned the children of Bnei Torah from receiving subsidies for official daycares. (The costs are not sustainable without subsidies.)

In other areas, mainly in the periphery and in Arab communities, the number of children in supervised daycare settings is even lower, below 15%.

The percentage of children in supervised daycares in other cities is higher but still below 50%, such as in Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Netanya, and Ashdod—or slightly above 50%, such as in Haifa, Holon, and Tel Aviv. The rate of children in supervised daycares is slightly above 60% in Rishon L’Tzion, Petach Tikvah and Be’er Sheva.

These disparities reflect a basic inequality in babies’ right to a safe and supervised environment, with place of residence effectively determining the level of safety and oversight a child receives.

Ministers highlighted the socioeconomic issues, arguing that the state pushes low-income parents toward unsafe options. MK Tzvi Sukkot said, “The tragic event last week is a painful warning sign. No parent intentionally endangers their child—but the state left low-income families with no real choices by failing to build a proper supervisory infrastructure.” MK Michal Waldiger added, “This daycare operated openly before all our eyes, in a reality of shortages—too few centers, too few staff, and prohibitively high prices in licensed ones.”

The discussion also revealed deep structural problems, including low wages and severe staff shortages. MK Yitzhak Goldknopf criticized working conditions: “Why are there no teachers? They study early childhood education but go into high-tech instead because the pay here is abysmal.” MK Simon Davidson (Yesh Atid) was even more blunt: “We’ve failed,” he said. “The signs were all there. The educational system is collapsing—from birth to academia. There are 3,000 daycare positions unfilled and no solutions. We’re already in free fall.”

Sukkot expressed a firm position on the issue. “A reality in which, in Israel’s capital city, only 21% of children under three are registered in supervised daycare centers is shocking and requires the most urgent action.”

Sukkot emphasized that “without supervision there is no safety. It is unacceptable that a place of residence determines whether babies are properly supervised. The disparities require an immediate response.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)