Preschool (illustrative)
Preschool (illustrative)iStock

The Private Preschools Forum sent an urgent letter to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other ministers in an attempt to prevent the closure of daycares and preschools for children aged three months to three years.

According to them, such a move would cause an economic shutdown.

A full 73% of Israel's daycares and preschools are privately-owned. These centers, which number approximately 10,000, have 100,000 staff members and 350,000 children across Israel.

"The few preschools which will be able to survive will be forced to significantly increase the parents' monthly payments, and if we reasonably assume that the parents' earning capacity has dropped due to the economic consequences of the crisis, the results are clear: Preschools will close, and parents will be forced not to go out to work," the Forum said.

On Monday, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz (Blue and White) will discuss whether the education and childcare systems - including summer schools, preschools, and daycare centers - should remain open despite the rise in coronavirus infections and the dramatic rise in the number of seriously ill coronavirus patients.