Ultra-Orthodox protesters riot after authorities announce plans to autopsy 2 babies who died at unlicensed Jerusalem daycare

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men rioted in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh after authorities announced plans to autopsy two babies who died in an unlicensed daycare in the nation’s capital on Monday.

Groups of Haredi men gathered at intersections in Jerusalem and in Beit Shemesh in the evening, blocking the roads and even setting fire to several trash bins in protest of the decision by a magistrate's court to allow autopsies of the babies. 

Earlier on Monday, two babies died, and 53 other toddlers and babies were taken to nearby hospitals for various injuries from an unlicensed daycare operating out of several adjacent apartments in the predominantly ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Romema in Jerusalem. 

משטרת ירושלים - בפינוי חרדים קיצונים שמפגינים
(חוסמים גם אוטובוס) כעת נגד נתיחת הפעוטות שמתו באסון בגן הילדים בשכונת רוממה.

כזכור - לפני שבועיים נער נדרס למוות בסיטואציה כזו בדיוק, במרחק שני רחובות מכאן. pic.twitter.com/QaBmtbvUOn

— מה חדש. What's new❓ (@Gloz111) January 19, 2026

Magen David Adom emergency medical technicians were called after a three-month-old baby girl was found unconscious in the daycare. However, upon arriving, additional teams were called to the daycare after a six-month-old baby was found unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing. 

All children at the daycare were ultimately evacuated to local hospitals and kept under observation after several of them demonstrated signs of respiratory distress. 

According to media reports, babies were kept in overcrowded conditions, with some being found by first responders sleeping in a bathroom near a toilet and in cabinets.

Rescue and security forces operate at the scene of a private daycare in Jerusalem where two toddlers were found dead and others were injured, January 19, 2026. (Photo: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

After the two babies were declared to have died, and with the cause of death not clear, the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled in favor of allowing autopsies to determine the cause of death, against the wishes of the parents. Initial reports indicate that dehydration could be a cause, after blood toxicology reports showed no signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

In Jewish religious law, autopsies are generally not allowed, being considered a desecration of the body, although exceptions are made in certain cases. 

A statement by Israel Police later in the night said that the officers had begun dispersing the rioters who had been engaged in dangerous behavior. 

פינוי מפגינים חרדים בירושלים, שמוחים על נתיחת גופות תינוקות שמתו במעון, באמצעות מכתזית
צילום: קבוצת מדברים תקשורת pic.twitter.com/sYyu58Ba7j

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) January 19, 2026

“In recent hours, Jerusalem District police forces and Border Guard soldiers have been operating against violent rioters in the Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, where they are trying to prevent buses from passing, as well as in Jerusalem,” the statement said. 

“Rioters are throwing objects, stones, setting fire to trash cans and causing damage to vehicles, while blocking traffic routes with their bodies and disrupting the daily lives of citizens,” the statement continued. “After the police declared the protest illegal, the police began to evacuate the rioters, who were still confronting the police.” 

הפגנת חרדים קיצונים כעת בכיכר "לב הרמה" ברמת בית שמש ב': pic.twitter.com/dKPEhuMthb

— בית שמש חדשות (@shemeshnews) January 19, 2026

According to Hebrew media, police used a water cannon, stun grenades, and batons to clear the rioters. 

The protests started after an anti-Zionist rabbi, Moshe Sternbuch, called on his supporters to protest the court’s decision, saying, there was “an obligation on each and every person to go out onto the city’s streets and protest against the autopsy and desecration of the dead.” 

Police have detained the three caregivers working at the daycare, which reportedly had been operating illegally for some 30 years, with reports on Tuesday morning saying the police had requested an extension of the detention until the autopsies and initial investigation have been completed. 

Following the deaths, several ultra-Orthodox leaders blamed the deaths on the attempt to draft Haredi men into the IDF and the sanctions against those who refuse to serve. 

The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party said the deaths “occurred despite clear and repeated warnings previously issued explicitly against the severe measures [against draft dodgers], which resulted in families being unable to cope with the financial burden imposed on them, causing severe overcrowding in daycare centers that had not been closed.” 

Moshe Arbel, who previously served as interior minister for the Shas party before it resigned from government positions over the draft law, blamed persecution of Haredi men for the deaths. 

“In the State of Israel, the children of illegal immigrants are entitled to daycare centers and kindergartens,” Arbel said in a statement. “In the name of the struggle against the ultra-Orthodox public, the children of the avreikhim [married full-time yeshiva students] are expelled from supervised daycare centers.” 

Read more: HAREDI | HAREDI ENLISTMENT | ULTRA ORTHODOX JEWS | DRAFT PROTESTS | ISRAELI POLITICS