In the Tel Aviv District Court, the indictment of kindergarten teachers Malka Malul, 60, and Eliza Cohen Zemach, 45, from Holon, was read today after they assaulted and abused the children of the Yamba kindergarten where they worked in Holon. The reading of the third defendant, Nur Shiloah, 36, was postponed until October. Several dozen parents came to the hearing shouting at the kindergarten teachers, "Come on to jail," and voiced babies crying from the videos.
The indictment revealed that during 2022, the three worked at the Bimba private kindergarten in Holon, where there were about <> toddlers. Malul served as the kindergarten director and caregiver. Cohen Zemach worked in the kindergarten as a caregiver, and Shiloah worked in the kindergarten as an aide.
Eliza Cohen Zemach. Aide at the "Bimba" kindergarten in Holon, photo: Gideon Markowitz
On many occasions during their work in the kindergarten, on a daily basis, the defendants assaulted toddlers, sometimes causing them pain. Among other things, they held them tightly, pulled them by their arms and legs and dragged them, picked up the toddlers and slammed them firmly on mattresses or chairs, picked up the toddlers while holding them with one hand, and threw and kicked the toddlers.
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In addition, the defendants created an atmosphere of fear in the kindergarten and treated the toddlers as if they were objects. Each defendant beat the toddlers, at the discretion and with the consent of the other defendants, sometimes even together. As a result of the defendants' actions, some of the toddlers suffered from sleep disturbances, eating disorders, tantrums and violent outbursts.
Parents of children who were abused in the "Bimba" kindergarten in Holon, photo: Gideon Markowitz
The indictment recounts a series of about 300 cases of assault and abuse of kindergarten children. The State Attorney's Office filed a request with the court for a prohibition on occupation until the end of the proceedings, in which the State Attorney's Office sought to prohibit the defendants from engaging in child care and supervision, stating, "The Respondents, consistently and systematically, beat toddlers in kindergarten, on a daily basis, taking advantage of the toddlers' dependency on them, and the fact that the toddlers are defenseless."
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