Gedera Daycare Operator Investigated After Recordings Reveal Infant Abuse
Secret recordings exposing severe abuse at a Gedera daycare have surfaced following the tragic death of a five-month-old infant, prompting a police investigation and denials from the operator.
Months ago, Eden and Harel Grinberger received the most devastating phone call a parent could ever face. Their five-month-old son, Rei, failed to wake up from his nap at a private daycare facility operated by Sima Alyashiv in Gedera. Secret recordings that surfaced after his death revealed severe abuse against the toddlers, triggering a surprising turn in the investigation.
Recalling the fateful day, Eden Grinberger described the panicked call from the caregiver. The caregiver called telling her to rush over as an ambulance was attending to Rei. When asked what happened, the caregiver claimed she tried to wake him up, but he was unresponsive and his skin had turned blue. Despite frantic resuscitation efforts at the hospital, medical staff were forced to pronounce the infant dead. The father, Harel Grinberger, recounted the heartbreaking moments: "We literally begged them: 'Do one last resuscitation attempt, anything, maybe this time it will work.'"
Initially, lacking any immediate suspicion of foul play, the parents agreed to forgo an autopsy. However, the situation dramatically shifted when audio recordings from inside the daycare emerged. The tapes capture infants screaming inconsolably for nearly an hour without a response, alongside the sound of thuds and verbal abuse directed at the children by the caregiver. "I told you, you're going to sleep, you'll stop... you are not getting up," Sima Alyashiv was heard telling one of the children.
Daniel, the father of another infant, described encountering an unbelievable level of malice upon listening to the recordings. Another parent, Matanel, shared an incident where his son returned home with severe facial bruising and a cut lip, for which the caregiver claimed she had not witnessed the cause. The parents filed an official police complaint with the audio evidence, leading to Alyashiv's interrogation two months later.
"We believe there was a reason this happened right there at the daycare, to somehow save those children from the hell they were enduring," Harel Grinberger stated. "I cannot say it brings comfort because Rei is never coming back, but it has immense value for us knowing it will save many lives." Responding to the allegations, Alyashiv's defense counsel expressed condolences over the tragic death of the infant, noting that medical information pointed to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and cautioning against presenting speculation as proven facts. The defense categorically rejected all allegations of violence, arguing that the single recording was selectively edited and does not accurately reflect the events at the daycare.
According to the Israel Police regarding case file 289416/2026, an investigation was opened immediately upon receiving the complaint, utilizing various methods to uncover the truth, though details of ongoing probes cannot be disclosed. Regarding case file 313260/2026, police stated that a thorough and professional investigation was concluded, with all findings forwarded to the state prosecution for review.
