Yaakov and Chani Katz, the parents of the baby Ari, z’l, who passed away in the daycare disaster in the Romema neighborhood of Jerusalem, slammed the incitement against the Chareidi sector and specifically against the daycare owner.

Speaking to Kan News only hours after their baby’s levaya, they expressed full and unconditional support for the daycare owner. It should be noted that many neighbors and parents have spoken out in support of the daycare owner, praising her devotion and saying they trust her implicitly, even after the incident.

“We’ve known her for seven years. I have three children, and she raised them all,” said Chani. “To me, this wasn’t a daycare—she’s like an aunt, a second mother to my children. I know her well; we’re like family. She’s the only person I’ll ever send my children to,” she emphasized.

Chani’s husband, Yaakov, slammed the accusations that arose on social networks and in the media, which he said were directed at the entire Chareidi public. “What broke us was the hateful comments online and in the media, where everyone decided to become judges and executioners,” he said. “Would anyone dare accuse the secular sector in this way? It’s sick.”

He added, “This was not a case of negligence and certainly nothing worse than that.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Attorney Uri Corb, who is representing the daycare owner, also spoke to Kan News in the daycare owner’s defense, rejecting claims of criminal neglect.

He addressed the viral footage that caused outrage—showing a toddler sleeping near a toilet—and explained what occurred.

“The daycare owner went to feed a baby and realized something was wrong when she picked her up. They immediately called ZAKA and neighbors for help, creating chaos at the scene—that’s why they weren’t in the other rooms at that moment. They believe the baby may have crawled there, or perhaps someone laid him there during the commotion.”

Corb highlighted the director’s years of experience and personal background. “She’s a mother of many children and has run the daycare for about 30 years with only praise from the community. She and her assistant care for the children with love and devotion. This tragedy is terrible, and they themselves don’t know why it happened. They’re cooperating fully with police,” he said, describing the two women as “broken and traumatized.”

On the question of crowding and licensing, Korb denied media reports of severe overcrowding: “All these things being said in the media are false—there were just over 20 children,” he said. [The other children and toddlers evacuated to the hospital lived in or next to the building.]

Regarding the lack of an official business license, Korb offered broader context: “I don’t know why she doesn’t have a business license, but it’s irrelevant to whether there was negligence. This phenomenon isn’t limited to the Chareidi sector—it exists in settlements and other yishuvim too. Parents pay eight or nine shekels an hour there. It’s part of the wider economic reality.”

It should be noted that Corb’s statements reflect the reality in Israel, where, according to reports, there are enough licensed daycares for about 50% of Israeli children. Many neighborhoods lack licensed daycares entirely.

Rabbi Moshe Itach, the father of one of the toddlers at the daycare, also praised the daycare owner in an interview with Kol Chai.

“There has been a lot of slander against the daycare here,” he said, stressing that contrary to the reports, this was not one crowded daycare with dozens of children. “In my son’s daycare there are 20 children. In the building there are two other separate kindergartens. It’s not that all the 50 or 70 children mentioned in the media were in one daycare. That is false and baseless.”

Itach also addressed the images and reports of children being laid in bathrooms or storage rooms. “Simply shameful,” he said, explaining that the photos were taken during the emergency evacuation of the entire building, when it was still unclear what the source of the incident was. “It was during the evacuation. They evacuated the whole building because they didn’t know what had happened. This is not a normal routine situation at a daycare.”

Beyond denying the allegations, the father described the staff’s attitude at the daycare over the years. “There are two devoted caregivers there. We’ve been there for several years; this is not our first child. The children enjoy it. My son waits every morning to go to daycare and comes back with a smile.”

“I have never seen a neglected child,” he asserted. “I have never seen signs of violence. Everything is done with respect and mutual care.”

Itach emphasized that even now, after the disaster, his position as a parent has not changed. “I said this morning at the hospital: if she returns to operating as a daycare, my children will return to her.”

Dozens of neighbors and parents expressed similar sentiments.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)