New and deeply disturbing details are emerging from the tragedy at a private daycare in Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood, where two infants — aged 2 months and 4 months — died around midday, and an additional 53 toddlers were evacuated to local hospitals.
First responders arriving at the scene described highly unusual and severe conditions. According to their accounts, infants were put to sleep inside closets, in hallways, and in bathrooms. Dozens of toddlers were crowded into a single small apartment, some sleeping on top of one another inside closets, while others were placed next to a toilet in the bathroom. It was further reported that an air conditioner was operating at extremely high heat, under conditions described as drying and life-threatening.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services said that following an inspection, suspicion of a hazardous materials incident was ruled out. However, officials emphasized that the daycare was operating within a complex of illegal private daycares inside a building on HaMem Gimmel Street in the Romema neighborhood. Police officers and fire crews evacuated the infants from the apartment, and three caregivers were detained for questioning as part of a criminal investigation that has been opened.
Dozens of parents rushed to the scene in frantic attempts to locate their children. Paramedics were forced to show parents photos on their mobile phones as families tried to identify their toddlers. Fire and Rescue officials said that the younger of the two infants who died was attending the daycare for the first time, and that both infants were sleeping in a separate bedroom at the time of the incident.
Jerusalem District Fire Commander Tufser Shmulik Friedman ordered the establishment of a special emergency team to examine the circumstances of the unusual incident, including the daycare’s operating conditions, the number of children present, and the heating devices that were in use inside the small apartment where dozens of infants were housed.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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22 Responses
What were parents shown when they came to check out the daycare?
Yet, you can expect hafganas and pidyon shvuyim campaigns if the “providers” are jailed for criminally negligent manslaughter.
Americans are squared
sadly most of the tragedies happening in Eretz jisroel could be prevented, we rely on nissim all along, when in reality this isn’t what Hashem wants it days in parshas כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה לגגך ולא תשים דמים בביתך כי יפל הנפל ממנו
we must do everything to prevent tragedies, no pushing into crouded busses or other such scenarious, stop bahaving like a third world country at hafganot, we know better.
nevermind which person sends a 2 month old baby to a daycare ?
cant we be responsible ? why give responsibility over to strangers ? because mothers need to be breadwinners ? its an upside down world and its time to crack down on the standards that were forced upon us.
This video was taken by a responder after the incident had started.
The children are not kept in these conditions – they were moved to other rooms including bathroom etc. becuase of the incident so they should not be affected.
not everything is proven and not everyine is guilty from a video.
@jitzchak
Maybe a parent who had to run out for whatever reason and so left their baby for the first time at a neighboring gan just for 2 hours.
…as the story goes.
@jitzchak – I’m genuinely curious, who do you think Morahs are? Should a Morah stop when she has her first child and not enter a classroom again until her youngest is several years old? If that’s what you expect not only would you cause an absolute crisis of Morah availability, but you’d also create this experience Gap because Morahs wouldn’t be able to get any experience for most of their careers.
The Fathers are doing Limud Hatorah in his Rosh Yeshiva’s yeshiva and, thereby, (somehow?,) protecting the country from all its enemies.
Fake news. Hatzala initially told them to move the other kids out the way. When mada finally arrived from up the street that’s what they saw
the high court said they will be hearing this case directly and have dismissed all calendar items to attend to this prosecution and persecution
THIS HEADLINE IS MISSLEADING DONT GET ME WRONG THERE WAS MUCH TO MUCH KIDS . BUT AS PER FIRST RESPONDERS THAT ARRIVED CHILDREN WERE MOVED OUT OF THE ROOM WHERE THE 2 CPRS WERE IN PROGRESS SO THEY DUMPED THE SLEEPING KIDS ALL OVER THE PLACE INCLUDING THE BATHROOMS
The Roshei Yeshivos encourage the men to learn and the women to work, as it states “B’zeas Apecha Tochal Lechem”. So, at least they died al kiddush hashem.
If this was abuse, it unfortunately is a only very small percentage of what actually takes place every day when mommy isn’t there, and is never discovered. Way to go parents!
There were 2 children nifter and 53 hospitalized.. if my math is correct, that means 55(!) Children in one apartment.. so yeah… I can believe the photos
fake news! not everything reported here or from mada is true – pls don’t believe all lashon hara you read!! Lots of daycares aren’t licensed, and not bec they’re neglectful, moldy, irresponsible etc Not saying it’s right or correct, but being unlicensed doesn’t make it a bad place. You’d be seriously ignorant and naiive to believe that so many parents would all send their children to a gan housed in “a single moldy, neglected apartment” with only 3 ganenot…
Avroham Reichmen COORDINATOR OF JERUSALEM TZEVET HATZOLAH THAT PARTNERS WITH MDA CONFIRMED THAT THE CHILDREN IN THE BATHROOMS AND IN CLOSETS IS FAKE NEWS, HE DOES CONFIRM THERE WAS ALOT OF BABIES AND WHEN FIRST RESPONDERS ARRIVED THEY EMPTIED THE ROOM TO START THE 2 CPRS FORCING RESPONDERS TO PUT KIDS WHERE EVER THEY COULD TILL MORE RESPONDERS ARRIVE TO TAKE THEM DOWN AND OUT OF THE BUILDING THE REPORTS OF OVER 50 CHILDREN ARE FROM 3 ADJACENT APARTMENTS THAT WERE EVACUATED AS WELL
firstly dont believe all the fake news that you see
i actually worked in a daycare not in E”Y and let me just say they also did things wrong. We had kids sleeping in cribs in a tiny closet with the door closed. . AND THEY WERE LICENSED SO JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS LICENSED DOESNT MEAN THERE GOOD
From a neighbour I was told, that there were 4 different day care centres in that building with COMBINED 53 children – AS PREVIOUS COMEMTATORS WROTE; MUCH OF THE REPORTS ARE FAKE (SEEMS SDEI TEMAN 2…)
I hope you get sued like the BBC for using invasive pictures & videos without permission of the homeowner. Where is people’s shame? It was 50+ kids evacuated from the BUILDING. There were a number of childcare homes within said building. This has shown the worst of media.
Sad the people hoping that the criminals who illegally ran a dangerous daycare and killed two children sue because they criminal behavior was exposed
I live in Romema.
I spoke to people who have sent their kids to her in the past.
18 kids, three adults. 1:6 ratio.
This is a blood libel of the highest level, agains chareidim in general and her specificaly.
Shame on you YWN for just repeating the sheker of the general media without doing the slightest modicum of checking.