Assi Dayan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – Renowned Israeli director and screenwriter Assi Dayan died in his Tel Aviv apartment at the age of 69 on Thursday following a long battle with substance abuse and various health issues.

Dayan, the son of former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, was considered a pioneer of the Israeli film industry. He first won acclaim with his trailblazing acting role in the film “He Walked Through the Fields,” Yossi Milo’s adaptation of Moshe Shamir’s novel and play of the same name. Dayan won eight Ophir Awards, Israel’s version of the American Oscars.

In 1976, Dayan wrote and directed the iconic Israeli cult comedy “Givat Halfon Eina Ona” (“Halfon Hill Doesn’t Answer”) about a group of army reservists in Sinai. In 1992 he wrote and directed “Hachayim Al-Pi Agfa” (“Life According to Agfa”), a film portraying life in a Tel Aviv pub.