January 20, 2026
Tragedy in Jerusalem: Two infants died, protests against the autopsies
צילום: איחוד הצלה
Yesterday, a tragedy occurred at an infant daycare in Jerusalem.
Two infants died: Leah Goloventzitz, a 3-month-old, and Aharon Katz, a 6-month-old.
Rescue teams arrived at the scene.
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They found the two infants unconscious. They tried to save them, but were unsuccessful. Later, they took another 53 infants from the daycare for examinations. At the hospital, they reported that these infants were unharmed.
After the incident, people spoke in the media about harsh conditions at the daycare. According to reports, it was very crowded there. There were children sleeping in closets and bathrooms. The daycare operated without a license and without supervision.
The police and investigators are now looking into what happened. They say the infants who died were in a room with an air conditioner set to high heat. They believe the infants died from dehydration. The investigators requested autopsies on the bodies to understand what happened. The court approved the autopsies. But the families object. Now, there are large protests in Jerusalem against the autopsies.
The tragedy reopened the debate about unlicensed private daycare centers. Daycare for infants in Israel is very expensive. In many places, people pay thousands of shekels per month. Not every family has enough money. Because of this, there are many unlicensed daycare centers. But they are not always safe. In this case, it ended in tragedy.