A female kindergarten student in Kiryat Tivon was hospitalized this week after she returned home bruised and battered, in an incident the parents have decried as having not been dealt with properly by the kindergarten.
The parents of the child were called to the daycare center where she attended an after-school program for what the center claimed was a minor medical matter related to their five-year-old daughter. The mother, who is on maternity leave with a five-month-old baby, found their daughter with scratches on her face and injuries that later required hospitalization.
The daycare center nurse said this was the condition the girl arrived in.
An urgent meeting between the parents and the kindergarten teacher took place early the next morning. The Education Ministry inspector reportedly did not attend the meeting.
"We asked the kindergarten teacher questions. We asked where she was and what she did,” the mother said. "The teacher said that the girl was playing with a boy, and she didn't see anything unusual. We asked her if now, when she looks at our daughter, she sees anything unusual, and she answered, 'Yes, it seems I failed.'"
The victim reportedly had difficulty discussing her experience with her parents. "It took the girl a day and a half before she agreed to tell us what had happened," the parents said. "We spent the weekend with her in the Rambam Health Care Campus emergency room."
We filed a complaint at the Zevulun police station, but the investigation is not progressing because an investigator has not come to the hospital to collect testimony from our daughter. The police are saying that the girl should be brought to the police station, but she is still hospitalized."
'No one is handling the incident'
On Sunday, the victim’s parents experienced another obstacle in their attempt to get to the root of the matter. "We had an appointment with the kindergarten teacher and the inspector from the Ministry of Education. When we arrived, the inspector told us, 'If you filed a complaint with the police, I can't handle it. Right now, the kindergarten will continue to operate as usual until we receive instructions from the police.'"
"No one is handling the incident," said the parents. "We are also not receiving treatment from the council. No one came to visit - not a social worker from welfare, not a psychologist. They didn't really investigate.”
"We are struggling," the parents shared. "Our expectation as parents is that even if something happens, and we understand that incidents can happen with children, that someone from the school would let us know what happened. The problem at the moment is that no one in the police is handling it, and this is the biggest problem because it is holding everyone else involved back."
The Kiryat Tivon Local Council responded to the incident: “In order to preserve privacy and without going into details, we note that the details of the case as presented are not accurate. We will continue to act transparently and professionally in every contact with us.”
The Education Ministry released a statement concerning the incident, declaring that "upon learning of the facts, the Haifa District has acted to investigate immediately in cooperation with the local authority, health authorities, and the police. The ministry is in constant contact with the kindergarten management and the family, and will continue to act responsibly and sensitively until the investigation is complete and the conclusions that will be required are implemented."
The Israel Police similarly responded that "a thorough investigation has been opened and the Ministry of Social Affairs has been contacted with a request to investigate as soon as possible. “We do not provide details about investigative actions, especially when it comes to helpless people, but we would like to point out that the police are carrying out all necessary investigative actions," said the police.