A., he is a captivating toddler. His eyes are bright and almond, his cheeks are puffy and his lips have a perpetual smile. There is no human way to understand how this sweet one-year-old became the punching bag of Rowan Abdel Hai, a nursery attendant at Gan Sigal in Hod Hasharon. A garden that has become another garden of horrors in the past month, after the exposure of the series of abuses that took place there.
The indictment against Rowan, filed two weeks ago, describes a series of 350 acts of monstrous abuse. A. begins the charges by describing some 130 incidents of violence against him over the course of more than two months, almost daily and almost throughout the day. According to the indictment, Rowan hit him in the head and back, kicked him, slapped him hard with both hands, threw him from a height onto the mattress, covered him with a blanket and pinned him to the floor, twisted him so hard that his head hit the wall, pinched his cheeks, lifted him forcefully from the back of his neck and shook him in the air.
The other charges relate to seven other toddlers, some under the age of one, who were also in the kindergarten. Instead of worrying about the needs, health and well-being of the helpless infants, Rowan ignored the crying, sank into her cellphone, sometimes leaving them alone for long minutes and feeding them food that fell on the floor. She is charged with abuse of a helpless minor by a supervisor, assault of a helpless person by a responsible person causing actual injury and aggravated assault.
"She struck him forcefully several times in the head," the indictment said. Rowan Abdel Hai abuses A in kindergarten, photo: from kindergarten cameras
Rowan was arrested about a month and a half ago and is staying in the Savyon wing of Neve Tirza Prison, not far from the cell of another abusive kindergarten teacher, Carmel Mauda. A hearing is scheduled for her remand next week, which most of the parents of her victims will attend. Among them will be Bethel and Shai Franco, who exposed the affair, as well as A.'s parents, Shiran and Itai Shilian.
"I will never forget the moment when the police showed me one of my son's videos," Sheeran tears. "I saw him lying on a mattress doing nothing and suddenly Rowan turned around, picked him up, shook him frantically, threw him out of the air onto the mattress and hit him in the ribs with both hands, like cymbals.
"I stared at the screen. The brain could not digest the images. The interrogator asked me questions and I couldn't answer. I asked her to show the video again and this time I crashed, crying. When they showed me the video for the third time, so I could identify who was there, I blacked out. Everything went black and my head sank."
In recent days, the parents have also turned their efforts to the owner of the kindergarten, Sigal Isos. She was interrogated and placed under house arrest, but is now being released without restriction. Last Saturday, some 80 parents demonstrated in front of her home in the Magdiel neighborhood, waving signs reading "Abuse is not child's play" and "Take responsibility." Those present read out the charges against Rowan and demanded that Siegel apologize to them.
"I think she should be punished with the full severity of the law, like Rowan, even if she physically didn't hit children," Xi says. "She is the director and responsible for the kindergarten. How does it make sense that she doesn't know anything? There are cameras that record everything that happens in the kindergarten and she has access to them. Didn't you hear crying? Didn't you hear any shouting?"
"Take responsibility." Demonstration in front of the home of kindergarten owner Sigal Issus, photo: Tzlil Ghani
"They said she was stung"
The neighborhood in Hod Hasharon, where the children's parents live, is characterized by high-rise buildings. Despite the late evening, it's hard to miss the dozens of red signs hanging on the front of the balconies, which read "Sigal, you'll hear our shout."
The oldest and well-known private kindergarten in the city is intended for newborn babies up to the age of 3. Rowan (32), a resident of Tira, was a caregiver at a nursery with eight toddlers up to the age of 15 months. She started working at the kindergarten in 2016, left three years later to work in a clothing store and returned to kindergarten in 2020. The indictment, which relies on kindergarten cameras, relates to a period of two and a half months, beginning on 5 May this year until the day of her arrest, on 18 July.
Rowan almost evaded the indictment. This was her last year in kindergarten, as she planned to study fashion design in Italy. On her Facebook page, she posted illustrations of evening dresses and videos next to a sewing machine, along with photos from challenging trips.
The parents in kindergarten trusted the single young woman with blue eyes. For one of them she exercised, for others she sometimes served as a babysitter, as with the Franco family, the parents of one-and-a-half-year-old B. According to the indictment, Rowan shook the sweet, smiling baby forcefully, hitting her head and back, pushing her, slamming her onto a mattress, kicking her, hitting with a pillow, pinching and even throwing her at another toddler.
Rowan 'Abdel Hai. Itai Shilian: "Satan Woman", photo: from Facebook
"On May 14, 05, at 2023:12 noon, B sat on the floor while toddler C lay on a nearby mattress," the indictment states. "The defendant approached B., lifted her tightly from one arm so that her body was in the air, threw her hard at C. and sat down at the entrance to the room with her back turned to the toddlers. B remained lying on top of C for about a minute, while they both cried, until C crawled under her and lay down nearby."
Despite the trauma, B. was left with a joie de vivre. She stumbles through the living room with mischievous laughter and pushes a toy cart with a bald doll, even when Shai and Bethel urge her to go to bed. Shai (40) is a well-known photographer, responsible for many of the official photographs of actors and singers in Israel. Bethel (40) works with him in a photography studio and manages productions and social media. Apart from B., they have two other children, ages 7 and 3, the youngest of whom was also in Sigal's kindergarten, in the adult group. B. was enrolled by her parents in kindergarten for September 2022, when she was about six months old.
"Pretty quickly she developed skin asthma, something that hadn't existed before, and her whole body was full of rashes," Bethel says. "On May 11 this year she came back with scratches on her hands and in kindergarten they told me she scratched herself because of her asthma. I took her to the doctors, applied steroid ointments and dressed her in long shirts so she wouldn't itch. Five days later she came back with a swollen leg and in kindergarten they told me she had been stung. I took her to the hotline, but they couldn't tell me what happened to her."
Did you suspect the kindergarten?
Bethel: "No. All the kindergarten parents failed because there was no connection between us. Perhaps if more parents had told of bruises on their children, it would have raised a warning light."
From the indictment: "The defendant shook A. while forcefully slamming his body against the mattress with his head against the wall. She then hit him on the stomach, while he was crying, hit his arms, head and back, picked him up and slammed him on the mattress again."
A reading of the indictment reveals that on 11 May, Rowan grabbed B. by the arms and pulled her off the mattress. Later, when she was distributing food to the children, she approached B., grabbed her by force and shook her firmly to the sides until the toddler burst into tears. On 16 May, it was noted that Rowan held B in her hands and, as she stood, threw the baby from a height towards the mattresses on which other toddlers were lying. About an hour later, she tried to wake B. from her sleep, and when she didn't get up, Rowan pulled her leg. Later, she again held B in her hands and "while standing," it said, "the defendant threw B to the floor. In response, the toddler cried."
"We didn't sleep at night"
The road to exposing the affair began on July 12, thanks to the regular babysitter of the Franco family, who began working simultaneously as a caregiver at Sigal kindergarten. "We came home from filming and I was interested in how she was doing in kindergarten," Bethel's voice gasped. "The babysitter replied that something didn't seem right to her, so she was leaving. She wasn't talking about violence, but about talking to the children. I felt like a ramp had fallen on me. The next day I went into action mode. At the same time as finding a new gene for B, I decided to record what was happening there."
Shai: "We were afraid. Why should we spy on our daughter's kindergarten? We believe in people and you can't live with a sense of persecution all the time."
Bethel: "A friend advised me to talk to Hadas Hakimi, from the Gatekeeper initiative to combat gene abuse. Hadas said she had already heard about the kindergarten and lent me a recording device. I was anxious. What happens if Rowan finds him? I studied fashion design, so I managed to engineer it into the rubber of my pants. I sewed and unraveled several times until I was satisfied."
An old and well-known institution. "Sigal Park" in Hod Hasharon,
On 17 July, B was sent to kindergarten with the concealed recording device. Rowan didn't notice him even when she changed her diaper. "I was terribly tense until they came home," Bethel continues. "That day Rowan brought them back from kindergarten and I knew it would be suspicious if I canceled at the last minute. When I called her and she didn't answer, I ate movies. I drove home like crazy and crying, until I saw them outside.
"When I was getting the kids ready for the showers, Shai listened to the recording. It lasted nine hours, so he skipped from section to segment and didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. I felt in my body that there was no way, something was wrong with the garden. I listened myself and rushed forward a bit, and the first thing I heard was B.
"Rowan yelled at her, 'Sit down, sit down, I don't like the things you do,' followed by a loud noise, and then B cries hysterically and gasps. In the background, I heard Rowan speaking in Arabic, 'Please bandage, please bandage,' which means 'I'm in jail.' She must have felt like a prison in the garden. I screamed, 'That's our daughter.' Shai and I continued to listen and heard Rowan screaming at babies, and at A. as well. On him it was an extreme tantrum.
"We didn't sleep at night and decided that Shai would go to work in the morning and I would stay home with B. and file a complaint with the Kfar Saba police. Everything rolled quickly. Hadas updated the Struggle for Children Headquarters, which has been accompanying and assisting victims of crimes since the Carmel Mauda affair. Alona Daniel from the headquarters immediately contacted the regional inspector at the Ministry of Education, who came to the kindergarten and demanded to see cameras. The supervisor also filed a complaint with the police."
"Education up to age 3 is a Wild West." The Franco family, photo: Avishag Shar-Yashuv
Bethel and Shai didn't know what was happening with the investigation until the afternoon, when Bethel noticed that a panicked correspondence had begun in the kindergarten's parent group because of a patrol car. Sigal also sent a message saying she was upset, but was prevented from speaking.
Bethel: "Parents noticed that I wasn't responding and sent me private messages. I had feelings of guilt that I wasn't answering. I wanted to tell what happened, but the interrogator forbade me."
Shai: "We decided not to act out of a storm of emotions. We contacted Attorney Ben Maoz, who also warned that not a word was said so as not to disrupt the investigation or erase the cameras. The officers acted at top speed and arrested Rowan within hours. During that time, I walked around the house back and forth as if I had drunk a hundred cups of coffee."
Bethel: "Since the children left kindergarten, they have changed. The 3-year-old had a language delay, and suddenly he started speaking fluently. B.'s asthma disappeared completely. I believe her body will remember the abuse, but our home is happy and it will balance the difficult experiences."
In a moment's decision, Shai posted on Instagram about the abuse of his daughter and attached the recording as well. "Our country is burning," he wrote, "so burning that the abuse of pure and privileged souls has become a norm, unacceptable in any way. I fight for my children's freedom to live a safe and beneficial life here." The post went viral and was viewed by more than 150,<> people. At the same time, it was shared by dozens of celebrities, including Lee Biran, Eliana Tidhar, Maya Wertheimer, Shiri Maimon, Anna Aronov, Noga Erez, and more.
Bethel: "At this time, Sigal sent a message in the group saying that anyone who wanted to talk to her was welcome to her home. I was shocked. Her parents didn't know she was under house arrest. I called the investigator and the visit was cancelled."
The family went into another tailspin when discussions began to extend Rowan's detention. "My heart fell when I heard the investigators say in court that it's a miracle that no child died, that since Carmel has never encountered videos like this," Shai says. "At one point, the judge watched the videos through a laptop and we all sat in suspense across from her. I saw the astonishment and shock on her face. I burst into tears. At the end of the hearing, Bethel screamed at Rowan, 'What did you do to our children?' I had to hold her so she wouldn't collapse."
How did Rowan react?
Bethel: "She hid her face with her hair. Only in the last few hearings did she move it a bit. Once she looked at me and I returned her nervous look. I wanted you to know that I knew what she did."
"הרגשתי חסר אונים"
לפני שלושה שבועות הגיע הרגע שממנו חששו ההורים. הם נקראו לזהות את ילדיהם בסרטוני המצלמות ולחזות במו עיניהם באלימות המזוויעה. "ביקשתי מבתאל ללכת, כי באותו יום היתה לי עבודה בירושלים, אבל היא בכתה ולא היתה מסוגלת", נסדק קולו של שי.
"במשך שלוש שעות ישבתי במשטרה וראיתי 70 סרטונים. המוח האנושי לא מסוגל לקלוט מראות כאלה. ביקשתי מהחוקר להריץ שוב ושוב. הלב דפק בחוזקה והראש כאב לי. היו שם דברים נוראים ואיומים. צפיתי בבת שלי בוכה והרגשתי חסר אונים. רואן סובבה לה את הגב וחזרה לטלפון שלה. אמרו לי שזו שחיקת החמלה, שאדם הופך קהה חושים לבכי או לקריאה לעזרה".
גם קולה של בתאל רועד: "זו פעם ראשונה שאתה מספר מה חווית שם".
שי פונה לאשתו: "באת לתחנה כדי לחבק אותי, אבל יצאתי משם. התקשרת ולחצת שאספר מה ראיתי והשתדלתי שלא תשמעי שאני בוכה. לא יכולתי לדבר. הכאב אחז אותי בכל הגוף. אמרתי לך שאם יש משהו שאני יכול לחשוב עליו זה לשרוף את טירה, ושאני רוצה שרואן תמות. אני לא אדם אלים, זו הפעם הראשונה שיצא ממני משפט כזה. הצפייה בסרטונים היתה הדבר הקשה ביותר שעשיתי בחיים שלי. עד לאחרונה התעוררתי עם זה מדי בוקר ובלילה נרדמתי עם המראות האלה. בתאל הצילה חיים של הרבה ילדים בזכות התושייה שלה".
אתה מתחרט שצפית בהתעללות בבתך?
"לא, אמרתי לעצמי כל הזמן שזה היה בעבר. הזכרתי לעצמי שב' מוגנת עכשיו".
בתאל: "מאז שהילדים עזבו את הגן הם השתנו. לבן ה־3 היה עיכוב שפתי, ופתאום הוא התחיל לדבר בצורה שוטפת. לב' נעלמה לגמרי האסתמה, וגם היא התחילה לדבר. אני מאמינה שהגוף שלה יזכור את ההתעללות, אבל הבית שלנו שמח וזה יאזן את החוויות הקשות. ביחד עם ההורים האחרים אנחנו מטופלים במרכז לבריאות הנפש וזה מאוד מסייע. בהמשך ישולבו גם הילדים".
ב' נכנסת עכשיו לגן חדש. יש חששות?
שי: "יש חשש, ובדקנו מייד אם יש מצלמות. אנחנו כעת במציאות שבה אנחנו שמים סימן שאלה על כל דבר. יש לנו מחשבות לעזוב את הדירה הזו למקום חדש. מה שעברנו הפך את העולם שלנו".
שי: "השופטת צפתה בסרטונים דרך לפטופ וכולנו ישבנו מולה במתח. ראיתי על הפנים שלה את התדהמה והזעזוע. פרצתי בבכי. בסיום הדיון בתאל צרחה על רואן 'מה עשית לילדים שלנו'. נאלצתי להחזיק אותה כדי שלא תתמוטט"
מה דעתכם על התיקון לחוק המצלמות שמובילים ח"כ אופיר כץ ומטה המאבק למען הילדים, שלפיו תהיה חובה להתקין מצלמות גם בגנים עירוניים?
שי: "אני בעד מצלמות אונליין. אם מישהו נוהג ללא רבב, לא אכפת לו שיצפו בו. הבעיה היא שככה אנחנו רק ממלאים את בתי הכלא בפושעים. אני לא רוצה שתהיה בכלל התעללות בילדים, למרות שזה נשמע יומרני. זו אחריות של הממשלה ומשרד החינוך. הם צריכים להחליט איך מתנהגים כאן לילד מרגע שהוא נולד, כי עד גיל 3 זה מערב פרוע. הילדים האלה שקופים. הם צריכים להיות לב־ליבה של ההתעסקות וכולם מזניחים אותם, כולל הרשויות המקומיות. מערכת החינוך מקבלת ילדים בני 3 עם טראומה".
מה אתה מציע?
"שיהיה פה שר חינוך לגיל הרך שידאג להכשיר מטפלות וגננות, כמו שעושים בגנים עירוניים. בנוסף, שיקימו מוקד אבטחה עם מצלמות אונליין. כבר מחר בבוקר ניתן לדאוג שלא תהיה סטירה אחת בגנים. איך? לוקחים את ההורים בגן, שהם בערך 40, וכל יום אחד מהם נשאר בגן. מי תעז להכות ככה ילדים? אפשר לעגן את זה בחוק, כמו מילואים בתשלום של הביטוח הלאומי. גנים כאלו יקבלו תו של גן בטוח, וברור לי שהורים יעמדו בתור כדי להירשם אליהם. זה מסע שדפק לי בדלת ואני לא יכול לשבת בחיבוק ידיים. הלוואי שאוכל להשיג 20% ממה שאני רוצה. זה הרבה יותר מאשר שלא אעשה כלום".
"רצתי איתו למיון"
גם השיחה עם איתי ושירן שיליאן, הוריו של א', מרסקת את הלב. איתי (37), סמנכ"ל משאבי אנוש של מפעלי המלט "נשר", ושירן (37) פוטרה מעבודתה בהייטק כיממה אחרי שנחשפה פרשת ההתעללות. חוץ מא', הם הורים לתאומים בני 6, העולים כעת לכיתה א'. בן השנה היה אמור להתחיל את הגן רק בספטמבר 2024, אולם סיגל עדכנה את שירן שהתפנה מקום באפריל השנה. א' הספיק לשהות בגן רק שלושה חודשים, שמתוכם נמשכה ההתעללות כחודשיים וחצי.
ב־24 במאי חוו איתי ושירן את המשבר הראשון של א' בגן. "רואן התקשרה ואמרה שהוא לא מתנהג כרגיל", מספרת שירן. "הוא לא רצה לאכול, לשתות או לישון. ברקע שמעתי אותו בוכה, בכי של מצוקה. עזבתי את העבודה ונסעתי לגן. כשהרמתי את א', הבחנתי שהוא לא נושם טוב. לא היה לו חום, אבל חשבתי שהוא מפתח משהו. נסענו הביתה, השכבתי אותו במיטה בזמן שחיפשתי אינהלציה ופתאום שמעתי אותו מחרחר. נבהלתי. התקשרתי לאיתי ואמרתי שאני לוקחת אותו למיון בבית החולים מאיר בכפר סבא. א' היה במצוקה. הפנים שלו היו אדומות והוא הסתכל עלי במבט אומלל.
"כשהגענו, רצתי איתו בידיים למיון. ריווי החמצן שלו בדם היה מאוד נמוך. אמרתי לרופאה שאני חושדת שיש לו משהו בגרון. היא פתחה לו את הפה וראתה משהו לבן. לקחו אותנו לחדר ניתוח וא' היה מבוהל. בדרך שרתי לו את השיר האהוב עליו, YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE. המתנתי בחדר התאוששות, ואחד הרופאים יצא אלי ואמר שמצאו בלוע של א' מדבקה נגד יתושים, כזו ששמים על הבגדים של הילדים מאחור, ואם הייתי מגיעה בעוד שתי דקות לא היה את מי להציל. במדבקה יש שמן רעיל ואסור שהיא תהיה במגע עם העור. היא גרמה לא' לבצקת חמורה בקנה הנשימה.
"עד עכשיו אין לנו מושג איך היא הגיעה לגרון של א'. תיארתי לעצמי שזה קרה בגן והתקשרתי לרואן וסיגל. אמרתי להן שא' בטיפול נמרץ ושהמצב לא כל כך טוב. ביקשתי שיודיעו להורים שלא לשלוח תינוקות עם מדבקות כאלה, למרות שממש קשה לתלוש אותן מהבגד. ארבעה ימים היינו בבית החולים וא' קיבל סטרואידים והמון תרופות. היתה לו אינפוזיה על כל יד".
"כתב האישום הוא בלתי נתפס". משפחת שיליאן, צילום: אבישג שאר-ישוב
רואן דיברה עם שירן מדי יום. "היא היתה מבוהלת והתנצלה שלא שמה לב", ממשיכה שירן. "היא ניסתה לשכנע אותי שאאפשר לה להגיע לבית החולים כדי להחליף אותי, ובשלב כלשהו הרגשתי שאני צריכה להקליט את השיחה. שאלתי אם הם משתמשים במדבקות כאלה בגן, אבל רואן התחמקה ולא ענתה. אני לא טוענת בשום צורה שהיא הכניסה את המדבקה לפה של א', אבל רק אחרי שראינו את כתב האישום הבנתי מה עבר עליו באותו יום".
מסעיפי האישום המתייחסים ל־24 במאי עולה תמונה מחרידה. בשעה 9:32 שכב א' על בטנו כשלפתע טלטלה אותו רואן לצדדים מספר רב של פעמים ובחוזקה, ולאחר מכן הטיחה אותו בעוצמה כשפניו כלפי המזרן. בעודו שוכב היכתה אותו בעוצמה מספר פעמים בראשו ואחר כך הצמידה את ראשו בחוזקה למזרן.
"בהמשך, בשעה 9:59, נרדם א' על המזרן והזיז מעט את רגלו", צוין בכתב האישום. "הנאשמת ניגשה אליו והיכתה אותו בחוזקה בגופו, כשהיא משתמשת בשתי ידיה. לאחר מכן טלטלה אותו והפכה אותו מספר פעמים, תוך שהיא מטיחה בעוצמה את גופו על המזרן כשראשו צמוד לקיר. בהמשך היכתה אותו על בטנו, בעודו בוכה, ואחר כך היכתה אותו בזרועותיו, בראשו ובגבו עד שגופו נסוב הצידה. אז הנאשמת הרימה אותו והטיחה אותו שוב על המזרן, והיכתה אותו שוב בראשו ובישבנו".
שירן: "כל יום אני תוהה אם העיכוב ההתפתחותי של א' קשור למה שעבר בגן. רק עכשיו הוא התחיל לזחול על ארבע. לקחנו אותו לפיזיותרפיה, כי מהסרטונים עולה שקיבל מכות בגפיים. נשקול לעשות לו MRI ראש, בגלל החבטות"
רואן יצאה מהחדר למשך 12 דקות, אולם לאחריהן נמשכה מסכת ההתעללות המזעזעת. היא היכתה וטלטלה את א' שוב, אחזה בראשו והניעה אותו אחורה וקדימה, ולאחר מכן אחזה בו באוויר והטילה אותו בחזקה על המזרן בעודו בוכה. כ־30 סעיפי אישום מתארים את אותו יום נורא, שבו אין לא' כמעט רגע אחד של שקט.
היא זרקה כרית על ראשו, היכתה אותו ברגלו וצבטה אותה. בסביבות 10:27 נראתה לוקחת מהמקרר חומר שטיבו אינו ידוע ומורחת אותו על גבו וצווארו של א', באזורים שבהם היכתה אותו. כמה דקות אחר כך הוא הראה סימני מצוקה, שכב על הרצפה, הזיז את ראשו ברעד ונשם בכבדות. רואן קראה לגננת אחרת, שהשכיבה את א' על מזרן הפעילות ובמשך דקות ארוכות הוא נראה כשהוא רועד לפרקים. על פי כתב האישום, זה לא מנע מרואן לבעוט בו פעמיים בבטנו.
ב־11:13 התקשרה רואן לשירן, אמרה לה שא' לא מרגיש טוב ושתגיע לאסוף אותו. כמה דקות אחר כך הרימה אותו בידיה, טלטלה אותו והניחה אותו בוכה בטרמפולינה. כשהפעוט האומלל עצם את עיניו, היא היכתה אותו מספר פעמים ברגלו למרות בכיו. לאחר מכן המשיכה להכותו, צבטה את רגלו והיכתה אותו פעמיים בבטנו.
"בהמשך הרימה הנאשמת את א', טלטלה אותו בחוזקה באוויר מספר פעמים, הושיבה אותו בטרמפולינה בכוח וצבטה אותו למשך מספר שניות עד שפרץ בבכי", מתאר כתב האישום. "כעבור זמן קצר שוב עצם א' את עיניו והנאשמת צבטה ברגלו למשך מספר שניות ושוב היכתה אותו. לאחר מכן מרחה את רגלו של הפעוט בחומר שטיבו אינו ידוע". הטלטולים נמשכו עוד דקות ארוכות, עד ששירן הגיעה לגן ב־12:20.
ב־29 במאי, יומיים לאחר ששוחרר מבית החולים, חזר א' לגן. מסרטוני המצלמות נראה כי היה לו שקט כשבוע, אולם ב־5 ביוני חזרה רואן לסורה, הרימה אותו בכוח והצמידה אותו למזרן. למחרת סובבה אותו בכוח עד שראשו פגע בקיר ובהמשך משכה בידו.
"On the day we hospitalized A., Sigal was abroad. It's not clear to me how such a dramatic event, in which a sticker reaches a baby's windpipe, didn't cause her to look at him on camera," Itai resents. "If she had done that, she probably would have noticed abuse as well. When I watched this video at the police, I saw that A. was having trouble breathing. We could have lost him."
"Suddenly he started screaming"
On 15 August, three days before Rowan's arrest, Sheeran noticed suspicious signs in A. "Since he was born, he's a super comfortable baby who sleeps through the night," she says. "Suddenly, he started screaming in his sleep. He also screamed during the day and I didn't understand what he was going through. I scolded the twins for teaching him nonsense."
Itai: "I remember that we suspected the whole world, just not this monster."
Shiran: "On the day of the arrest, one of the mothers, who arrived at the kindergarten early, called me and said she saw Rowan being led to the patrol car. I rushed there, saw Sigal sitting in the nursery and asked her if everything was okay. Her facial expression was sealed."
What were you thinking at that moment?
Sheeran: "I was sure Rowan had been arrested for fraud, something security or drugs. I didn't realize for a moment that it was violence."
Itai: "I was suspicious. First the sticker story and now there's the police."
Shiran: "In the evening, after the correspondence in the parent group, I decided with four other mothers to go to the Kfar Saba police station and find out what was going on. There were very nice investigators there and we heard that they were also recordings. We immediately understood that it was violence, but we didn't know which child it was. I went to the interrogator, showed a picture of A. on the phone and hysterically told her to just tell me it wasn't him. The researcher was interested in the names of our children and asked three of us to go with her. At first, two came in and came out crying. I went in last. Before I lost consciousness, I managed to ask them to check the cameras for the day A. was hospitalized."
Itai: "When she told me what she saw, I was shocked. I immediately went to A. and checked that he was sleeping soundly. I tried to calm Sheeran down and told her that he was with us now and that everything was fine."
Sheeran: "I came home in the early morning and sat down on the carpet in the living room. I couldn't stand. I was drained inside. I still don't get it. How does A, after what he went through, continue to smile? What resilience he has."
Itai: "All the videos show pure evil. There was violence there on an almost daily basis. Slamming, choking, kicking, slapping. An adult would not withstand such abuse, so a baby? I also saw that she had smeared something on his body. Maybe she wanted to make the signs go away."
On 6 August, Itai and Shiran were called to the police to view all the footage from the cameras. Sheeran couldn't. Even in my worst nightmares, he never imagined that he would have to watch 113 videos documenting the ongoing abuse of his son.
"I sat there for four hours and couldn't see everything," he says quietly. "I've seen maybe 30 videos and all of them show pure evil. There was violence there on an almost daily basis. Slamming, choking, kicking, slapping. An adult will not withstand such abuse, so how does a baby deal with it? I also saw that she had smeared something on his body. To me, it looks like butter. Maybe she wanted to hide the signs of the beatings.
"The interrogator broke down in front of me, after two hours. He couldn't expect anymore. We took lots of breaks. I crashed inside and couldn't stop cursing. I told the interrogator that if there were no rules, Rowan wouldn't survive. I wanted to get out of there and strangle her, but we're not the people of darkness. To me, she is a monster, a devil's woman. At one of the hearings, I shouted to her that I had seen that she had strangled A. and that she was a hero about children, that we would see her in front of me. I realized what chaos A was in. She should not be released from detention, she is dangerous and the indictment is incomprehensible."
Tears run down Sheeran's cheeks nonstop. She quickly wipes them away when Itai's parents enter the apartment with their three children. A. smiles at his mother and reaches out his arms to her. She picks him up and hugs him tightly. "I didn't read the indictment," she whispers, "but Itai told me that even on the last day, Rowan managed to abuse him."
Indeed, a few hours before her arrest on 18 July, A. was lying on a mattress in the nursery leaning on his hands. "The defendant washed the floor of the room and at one point approached A., grabbed his arms tightly and slammed him on his back," the indictment states. "In response, A burst into tears, while the defendant continued to wash the floor."
Now Shiran and I are debating whether to return A. to the frame or leave him at home. The school year is upon us and he has not yet enrolled in kindergarten. "They recommended a place to us, but when it turned out there were no cameras there, we gave up," says Sheeran. "It will take us time to rehabilitate ourselves. I don't believe in human beings anymore. What human being can do such things? To me, Rowan is the face of evil."
Itai: "Every time I remember that she smeared something on his body, I ask myself what degree of monstrosity can be reached. The amount of charges against her and the nature of the acts make me think she's a sadist."
Shiran: "Every day I wonder if A.'s developmental delay is related to what he went through in kindergarten. He had just started crawling on all fours. We took him to physiotherapy, because the videos show that he lay down a lot and was beaten in the limbs. Later we will consider whether to give him a head MRI as well, because of the blows he received.
"The problem at his age is that he has to be under anesthesia, and only three months ago he underwent surgery under anesthesia. It's not healthy for such a small child. This situation is frustrating, because how do you know what A's possible damages are? We went on a pre-planned vacation a week ago, but Itai and I couldn't enjoy ourselves. He suggested that I go and have a massage at the hotel's spa to loosen up my body and soul a bit, but every time I was touched on the back of my neck I cringed. It reminded me of the way Rowan perceived A. I felt like I was being strangled."
Responses
As of closing time, Rowan Abdel Hai is not represented by a lawyer. At no point in the hearings to extend her detention at the Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court did she deny the suspicions against her. At a hearing on 24 July, through her former defense attorney, she provided a partial version that she was unable to cope with children and the stress associated with their crying, and asked to be released to house arrest. "In an attempt to bring order to the kindergarten," the former defense attorneys said at the hearing, "she apparently failed to attack children who were on her watch. There is nothing to teach that she should be detained even today, when there is no dispute that she does not work in the kindergarten, is removed from the kindergarten and will never work in any other kindergarten."
Attorney Reli Avisar, who represents kindergarten owner Sigal Issus, said: "My client's heart is with the parents and toddlers who were harmed by the severe and difficult actions of caregiver Rowan. Unfortunately, my client did not know or imagine what was going on in the nursery. It should be clarified that she took care of the group of graduates, which is located in a completely separate building. It is important to note that my client's grandson was also in the nursery in Rowan's care last year. My client was shocked by the therapist's actions, a small part of which was presented to her during her interrogation. She is heartbroken and is also in a difficult mental state because of this. She could not argue with the difficult and understandable feelings of the parents, but in practice she knew nothing about the difficult deeds.
"The ability of gene owners to effectively supervise the kindergarten is almost non-existent. The Cameras Law, as drafted today, prohibits garden owners from viewing the footage, and this constitutes a criminal offense. In order to protect the toddlers, it is imperative to amend the Cameras Law so that they can supervise the kindergarten teachers and aides in practice, and one hour earlier."
"Her heart is with the parents." Sigal Issus, owner of the garden,
Alona Daniel, from the Struggle for Children Headquarters, said: "As soon as we received the report, we worked with an inspector from the Ministry of Education and the police. We accompanied every moment of the arrest, including the filing of the closure order for the kindergarten. Here, too, a courageous caregiver, a mother who acted and a camera that documented brought an end to the abuse. The education minister must know that there are babies and toddlers who experience violence and neglect under the cover of the closed eyes of the state. We will continue to fight for an amendment to the Camera Law, because this is the first step in eradicating violence and keeping criminals away from helpless children. Prevention will require in-depth work and huge budgets, and it is clear that years will pass, but the children are crying out now."
Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz, who is working to amend the Camera Law, said: "The time has come for them to understand that this is a blow to the state. Every day I receive a report about a new incident of violence in dormitories and kindergartens. For the past four years, I have been working to eradicate the phenomenon, and I passed the bill to increase punishment, which sends those convicted of abuse to many years in prison. I also passed the bill according to which convicted people would not be able to work with helpless people. Now we are facing a new challenge, and I worked for a long time on amending the Camera Law that will also require kindergartens for children aged 6-3. The fact is clear: without cameras there is no evidence. If it weren't for them, the little ones would continue to suffer horrific violence."
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