Jerusalem daycare worker indicted for 12 counts of abuse of toddlers
Tel Aviv court also releases names of three kindergarten teachers who were arrested for allegedly abusing children in their care
A 63-year-old woman was indicted on Monday on 12 counts of aggravated assault for allegedly abusing toddlers aged 18 months to two years at the daycare where she worked in Jerusalem.
According to the indictment filed by the Jerusalem District Court, Zehava Zarfati, who had 23 years of experience as a daycare teacher, carried out all the counts of abuse on the same day in June last year.
At the time of the attacks, Zarfati was working in a daycare in Jerusalem’s Neve Yaakov neighborhood that is part of the Emunah chain.
The indictment listed 12 cases of abuse beginning at 12:09 p.m. on June 18 that were allegedly committed over the course of half an hour, with the first accusing Zarfati of hitting a baby on the head.
The next 11 attacks were carried out on other babies and all involved Zarfati dragging them off of or slamming them face down on mattresses, in some cases multiple times.
The indictment did not say what injuries, if any, resulted from the attacks.

On the day in question, there were two other teachers present with Zarfati, the indictment said, but it was unclear whether they were aware of or tried to intervene in the alleged abuse.
In a separate case, the Tel Aviv District Court published the names of three women who were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of abusing children at the kindergarten they work at in the city.
The court explained its decision to publish the names, writing that “there is a clear public interest as it is possible that other complaints will be filed” as a result of parents knowing the three women were under suspicion.
The kindergarten’s owner, Natalie Shahar, and her two assistant teachers, Ortal Levy and Ronit Shira Ariel, were arrested after police opened an investigation as a result of a complaint that was filed against the women.
According to recordings and other evidence, the police said they believed one of the women was responsible for breaking a child’s hand and that this was not an isolated incident.
They did not say which woman was allegedly responsible for breaking the child’s hand and did not list other specific cases of abuse.
The three women will remain in custody until Wednesday or until the court decides to extend their custody based on the investigation’s progress.