MK Dr. Yifat Sasha-Biton (Kulanu), chairperson of the Children’s Rights Committee in the Knesset, has submitted a bill obligating kindergartens and infant day care centers to contact the parents of children who don’t show up.

The bill comes in the shadow of an horrific case on Tuesday, in which 15-month-old Eliya Weingott tragically died after being forgotten in an overheated car in Ashdod. Eliya’s father told police police that he took his other children to school and forgot his infant son in the car; he only remembered three hours later before rushing to remove him from the vehicle. 

According to the new bill, kindergarten teachers and caregivers will be required to contact the parents of children aged 0-6 years old if they do not arrive at the kindergarten or day care center within an hour of starting time.

“In light of numerous cases of children being forgotten in cars, this bill comes to recruit the educational system to aid in preventing the phenomenon,” said Sasha-Biton.

“The idea stems from the need for cooperation from all the sources involved in the safety of our children, and to ensure that they arrive safely today at the kindergartens and day care centers. This law has no removal of parental responsibility.”

The MK concluded by saying, “I have no doubt that this is a meaningful step in preventing the unnecessary deaths of infants and children and the collapse of their families.”