"The girls were climbing the walls. The childcare center is a lifeline for parents and children"

Ynet, a major Israeli news site, published today a lovely article about childcare centers for essential workers, including those run by Dror Israel's associated youth movement NOAL. 

These activities caring for children of medical or security service personnel are just one part of Dror Israel and NOAL emergency efforts at this time – which also include activities for kids in public shelters to ease the boredom and fear, running video calls for our participants stuck at home while schools are closed, and activities for kids at hotels who have been evacuated from homes damaged by missiles.  

Here is our translation of the ynet article: 

"The girls were climbing the walls. The childcare center is a lifeline for parents and children" 

At Rambam Hospital, an emergency childcare center opened at the beginning of the week—parents go to work and save lives, while their children are cared for by staff members and volunteers. "The girls really enjoyed 'Mom's Day Camp'," says nurse Sharach Deutsch. The Noar HaOved VeHaLomed (NOAL) movement also opened childcare centers for the children of essential workers in cities across the country—and the young counselors admit: "It’s an opportunity to get out of the house and feel a bit of routine." 

Eitan Glickman, Ynet, March 4, 2026 

In times of war, many of us stay home, whether because our workplaces are closed or because they allow for remote work. However, what do you do when both parents work in essential jobs, and at the same time, the education system is shut down? 

Sharach Deutsch (37) from Haifa, a nurse educator in the neurosurgery department of Rambam Hospital, and her husband, Elida, a senior medic in MDA, are one such couple. The two have four daughters, all of whom are in the education system. The day before yesterday (Monday), they all arrived at the Rambam Childcare Center—a framework opened in the medical center's protected underground complex, with the goal of allowing employees with children to come to work without limitation or worry. 

From right: Sherach Deutsch, twins Priel and Anahel (eight and a half), Daniel (seven), Ayala (three and a half) and father Elida | Photo: Rambam Spokesperson

"We were her for several rounds already, since the COVID-19 period," Sharach explains. "Every time the country is in a state of emergency, this is the solution. To be honest? The girls really wait for 'Mom's Day Camp,' as they call it. It gives them a break; they love being there and enjoy the activities and the atmosphere—and for me, it allows some breathing room. When the girls are here, I know they are protected, and they are calm too. It takes something off my mind and allows me to concentrate on work." 

The childcare center is operated by hospital staff and experienced volunteers. On Monday, children aged 3–12 were invited, and yesterday, a nursery for ages 0–3 also opened. 

Deutsch says that past experience demonstrates that the same children do not arrive every day, and the staff supervising them changes from time to time; nonetheless, a blessed sense of routine is still created during a period of uncertainty. "Already at the end of the first day of the childcare center, the girls said goodbye to the friends they made and were left wanting more," she says. 

How important is this framework? "On Sunday, even before it opened, I was after a night shift with a sequence of sirens and runs to the protected room (MAMAD), and the kids were climbing the walls. A framework like this is not just a solution for working parents; it is a lifeline for the children as well," Deutsch explains. 

"An opportunity for a little routine" 

The Haifa hospital is not the only institution helping parents who cannot be absent from their work during an emergency. 

The Noar HaOved VeHaLomed (NOAL) youth movement, in cooperation with local authorities across the country, is currently operating childcare centers for children of essential workers in schools, with counselors and gap year volunteers who were recruited within hours. 

NOAL Teen leaders: The childcare centers create a sense of routine in a difficult time.

In Rosh Ha'ayin, for example, everything happened almost overnight. "In the evening, we received a request from the authorities, and from one day to the next, we already opened a childcare center," says Lior Steinberg, the NOAL branch coordinator in the city. "I sent a message to the counselors and there was a great response—some of them had already worked in similar activities in previous rounds." 

On the first day the childcare center opened in the city, about 40 children arrived. The significance of the framework, Steinberg explains, becomes clearer precisely at the most sensitive moments: "During a siren, shrapnel fell not far from us, and I started receiving messages from parents asking if everything was okay. At that time, the children were dancing with the counselors in the shelter." 

NOAL counselor in a childcare center in Rosh HaAyin.

A similar picture comes from Givatayim, where a childcare center opened for about 50 children. Noy Nahum, the Borochov NOAL branch coordinator, says that even before receiving official approval, a volunteer group had already been opened: "We received positive reactions from the educational teams about the seriousness of the counselors, especially during sirens. For them, it is also an opportunity to get out of the house, put on a movement uniform shirt, and meet participants. It brings back a sense of routine in a period that is not easy." 

Nitsan Rosenwaks-Ziv and Offir Hallabe, the movement's Secretaries-General, add: "Those who go out to the front every day need to know that there is someone looking after their children. This is our civilian front."