Years After Daycare Abuse Scandals, Israeli Families Battle Lingering Trauma
Years after major Israeli daycare abuse scandals, families continue to battle severe post-traumatic stress, anxiety, and lingering trauma while calling for stronger state support.
Years after the horrific abuse scandals exposed in daycare centers across Israel, the psychological scars continue to haunt the affected families. Parents of children who suffered severe abuse report ongoing post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic anxiety, and deep-seated fears that persist years after the legal verdicts were handed down.
The Lingering Trauma of Abuse
Shelli Vaknin, whose daughter attended the Luli Gan daycare in Petah Tikva run by Orna Davidovitch and her daughter Daniel Leibovitch, describes the daily struggle. Last June, Davidovitch was sentenced to eight years in prison and her daughter to 11 years following convictions on over 200 counts of child abuse. Vaknin recalls the moment the truth came to light through hidden recording devices and security cameras, shattering the family's trust.
"My daughter was two and a half years old when we discovered what happened, and today she is seven and a half," Vaknin shares. The psychological toll remains visible, particularly regarding eating habits. "She still wakes up from nightmares at night, and her diet is extremely restricted due to the trauma she endured," she adds, noting that her daughter continues to receive emotional therapy and nutritional guidance.
A Nationwide Crisis and the Fight for Justice
Yossi Habra, founder of the lobbying headquarters against early childhood abuse whose daughter suffered abuse at the Carmel Mauda daycare in Rosh HaAyin, emphasizes that the ordeal does not end behind prison bars. Mauda was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison in 2021 following a landmark trial that set a precedent for harsher sentencing in abuse cases.
Habra explains that recent indictments filed against staff members at a private daycare in Ariel, involving over 400 counts of abuse against 17 toddlers, have reignited the trauma for families across the country. "People think it all ends in a week or a month, but lives are permanently altered," Habra stresses, calling on parents to brace themselves for a grueling legal battle and demanding stronger state support for victims' families.
