Assi Dayan laid to rest in Nahalal

Dayan was buried next to his legendary father, defense minister and general Moshe Dayan who like his son was born and raised on the Jezreel Valley moshav.

Assi Dayan (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Assi Dayan
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Celebrated and troubled actor and filmmaker Assi Dayan was buried in Nahalal before hundreds of loved ones on Sunday morning, days after he passed away aged 68 last Thursday in his Tel Aviv home. Dayan was buried next to his legendary father, defense minister and general Moshe Dayan, who, like his son, was born and raised on the Jezreel Valley moshav.
Well-wishers sang songs and told jokes about Dayan, whose career as an actor and film-maker spanned decades and includes dozens of movies, including some of the most beloved in Israel.
Joking about her long-time friend, actress Rivka Michaeli said of Assi, “He was an anarchist before such a thing even existed.”
In addition to his film career, Dayan also published three collections of poetry, and standing next to his father’s grave on Sunday, Assi’s, son, Lior, read from a poem Assi wrote a few years earlier: “Go to sleep now in your quiet, comfortable crib.”
Life was rarely comfortable or quiet for Dayan, who in addition to his film career also made headlines for his substance abuse problems, his stint in a psychiatric hospital, and run ins with the law.
Before the ceremony at Nahalal, thousands of fans and loved ones filed through the Cinematheque in Tel Aviv to pay their respects where his casket was placed on stage.