Tel Aviv man held for three days pending psychiatric evaluation after alleged random assaults on women

A Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday extended by three days the remand of David Ezra, who is suspected of randomly attacking women in the street in three separate incidents and knocking them to the ground. During that period, the court ordered, he will undergo an initial psychiatric examination. In his interrogations, Ezra insisted he did not attack the complainants and claimed they collided with him by mistake.

Police said Ezra was arrested in southern Tel Aviv after a video of one of the incidents, which took place on Hatzarim Street in Jaffa, was circulated on social media. One of the three complainants was injured when she fell. According to the police representative, one incident occurred in May and two others on June 18, and security-camera footage of two of the attacks, shown to Judge Tzipora Giloni-Gaz, indicates the acts were deliberate. Police sought the extension to complete further investigative steps, including the psychiatric screening.

Investigators said Ezra has no criminal record, but his behavior raised concern about his mental state. They also said there was no prior acquaintance between him and any of the women, and each filed a complaint shortly after her incident. Ezra was said to have connected himself to two of the cases.

Defense attorney Shmrit Tzur argued that the arrest was unlawful, saying police arrested him on a roof without first obtaining an arrest warrant, even though the alleged offenses are misdemeanors, and that officers broke into the premises without warning. She added that his mother says he has no psychiatric or criminal history and argued most investigative steps had already been completed, so he should be released on third-party bail. Judge Giloni-Gaz rejected that request, finding reasonable suspicion supported by Ezra’s own admissions, the complainants’ testimony, and the videos, and ruled that detention was justified by danger to the public and concern over obstructing the investigation.