Sderot daycare manager suspected of violently attacking infants in her care

The Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court on Sunday lifted a gag order against naming Ilana Swissa as the daycare manager suspected of abusing infants at a center in the southern border city of Sderot.

Swissa, 54, was arrested at the end of January on suspicion of physical or mental abuse of a helpless person and other assault offenses. Police are investigating her for suspected offenses committed during December and the early part of January.

The alleged crimes happened at a daycare center run by the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), which operates numerous educational sites across the country.

Police reportedly obtained security camera footage from security cameras in the daycare center, attended by 18 children aged 4 months to 2 years. Swissa was recorded on at least 240 occasions being violent to the children.

Sahar Vanunu, whose son attends the daycare, told Channel 12 he was glad the court permitted Swissa to be named in the media.

“Now the whole country will see the face of the devil and know the horrors that can happen to our pure and amazing children,” he said.

Vanunu said he expected WIZO to take responsibility for her alleged actions.

“It is impossible for the current management to remain in this situation without measures being taken against them,” he said.

אילנה סוויסה משדרות היא הגננת החשודה ביותר מ-200 מקרי התעללות pic.twitter.com/zO525ypC8M

— וואלה (@WallaNews) February 19, 2023

Channel 12 reported that last week parents for the first time viewed some of the footage at a police station. On Tuesday, some parents demonstrated outside Swissa’s home.

Parent Ravit Shmuelav told the media, it was “a big nightmare.”

“I didn’t believe it at first. At the police, they showed us terrible clips. We are shattered and feel that our lives have come to a standstill. Now I understand why the children started hitting,” she said.

Swissa was set to be brought before a judge for a remand hearing on Monday. Her arrest has been extended three times since she was first detained.

The alleged crimes were revealed after one of the mothers whose child was at the daycare concealed a recording device in her 15-month-old son’s clothes.

Tzlil Ben Zahar heard sounds of shouting, cursing, and violence, according to media reports. The recordings were handed over to police, who then confiscated footage from the security cameras at the daycare.

WIZO said in a statement that, in accordance with its zero-tolerance policy for such incidents, “employment of the worker was immediately stopped.”

It said that other members of staff at the daycare had been given extra training and that the organization was in constant contact with parents “and fully cooperating with the relevant authorities.”

Attorney Kobi Ben Shaya, representing Swissa, said his client was a normal woman, who had been working as a kindergarten teacher for 18 years.

He said it was too early to draw any conclusions and that “when the picture becomes clear, it will be clear that things are completely different.”

Last year, a daycare manager was sentenced to 3.5 years behind bars, following her conviction on four counts of abuse and 14 counts of assault against toddlers under her care.

Israel has seen several high-profile cases in which teachers at private daycares have been caught on film abusing children, sparking widespread anger and leading for calls for greater oversight.

Most notoriously, Carmel Mauda, the head of the Baby Love daycare in Rosh Ha’ayin, was sentenced in 2021 to 9.5 years in prison. Mauda was arrested after graphic footage showed her and others abusing children as young as 3 months old, leading to large protests. An arsonist later set fire to the Rosh Ha’ayin building that housed the daycare and Mauda’s home.

In 2019, a daycare center attendant was sentenced to 17 years in prison for smothering to death an 18-month-old girl under her care.