Raanana Parents Protest Alleged Toddler Abuse at Local Nursery School
Parents in Raanana protested Sunday against a nursery teacher and three assistants suspected of abusing toddlers at the 'Zman Eichut' kindergarten, demanding strict indictments and better oversight.
Dozens of parents gathered Sunday evening in front of Yad LeBanim House in Raanana to protest against a nursery school teacher and three assistants suspected of abusing toddlers at the 'Zman Eichut' kindergarten. The demonstration follows a month of agonizing investigations after police arrested assistants Tamar Roza, Yehudit Roza, and Yael Graydy, alongside head teacher Silvina Eshel. While the suspects have been released under restrictive conditions including a ban on working with helpless individuals, around 200 local residents, including Raanana Mayor Chaim Broyda, joined the rally to support the families.
Speaking at the demonstration, Dana Ohayon Segev, a mother of a child at the kindergarten, expressed the profound trauma and loss of trust experienced by the parents. 'Since the first phone call from the police, almost a month has passed—the longest month in the world,' she said, describing how children have begun expressing fear, saying things like 'it hurts here' or 'it was scary in this kindergarten.' Parents emphasized that they may never fully know the extent of what happened behind closed doors, demanding swift and severe indictments from law enforcement.
Guy, another parent whose child attended the facility, voiced profound regret and frustration over trusting the staff. 'If there are cameras in the kindergarten, why can't we sample them and see what is happening? We were blind,' he stated, urging prosecutors to press the strictest possible charges. Maya Licht, whose six-month-old infant was enrolled at the facility, recounted the horror of viewing police evidence. 'What we saw there was worse than anything I could have imagined,' she said, thanking authorities that her baby survived.
Mayor Chaim Broyda addressed the crowd, expressing deep sorrow and standing in solidarity with the grieving families. 'I may look tough, but I am an anxious father and grandfather. It is cynical how teachers who smiled in the morning behaved the way they did here,' Broyda stated, pledging municipal support for the ongoing fight for tighter oversight, mandatory camera access, and stronger protections for children in educational facilities across the city.
