Assi Dayan to remain in custody for threat to 'butcher' pregnant woman

Actor and director Assi Dayan will remain in custody until next month for allegedly beating and threatening to "butcher" a pregnant woman from Kiryat Ono last month, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled at his arraignment yesterday.

Dayan is accused of chasing her with a knife and pushing her on March 27. According to the indictment, Dayan had punched the woman the day before, and pushed her down and kicked her repeatedly in an Italian airport several months ago.

The son of Israel's late defense minister Moshe Dayan and sister of former MK Yael Dayan, Assi Dayan recently starred in the innovative television serious "Betipul" ("In Treatment"), a psychological drama whose format has been sold to the American cable network HBO. In the past, Dayan has spoken openly about his addictions to various illegal substances.

In the hearing yesterday, Dayan's lawyer, Itai Binun, said his client wants to remain as far away as possible from the woman because "she has made him a Ritalin junkie." But the judge said that since Dayan is accused of offenses perpetrated while he was in an unstable mental state, he might cause the woman additional harm if released.

The judge also made reference to a psychiatric evaluation that diagnosed Dayan with extreme borderline personality disorder, accompanied by "impulsive and reckless behavior."