Tel Aviv Restaurant Incident Leads to Indictment for Assaulting Wife

A vacation by a couple from Beit Shemesh turned violent in Tel Aviv about a month ago, when a 30-year-old man allegedly attacked his wife in a restaurant after she complimented another diner’s looks. The pair, who are currently separated and share a one-year-old child, had rented a hotel room near the Tel Aviv promenade and were drinking alcohol when the confrontation began.

According to the report and the woman’s testimony to police, she told her partner, “Look how handsome he is,” referring to a man in the restaurant. She said he responded with rage, cursed at her, and when she tried to leave, grabbed her by the neck and forced her downward to stop her from walking away.

A female patron who saw the attack feared for the woman’s safety and called police, telling dispatchers, “I am in a restaurant and I see a man attacking his wife.” Officers from the Lev Tel Aviv station arrived, but the couple had already left. They were later found on the promenade after a search.

Police said the suspect refused to hand over the couple’s baby stroller and demanded that the woman return to the hotel to collect her belongings. When he saw officers locate her, he ran, but was caught shortly afterward. He was arrested, later released under restrictive conditions, and the Tel Aviv District Police prosecution unit has now filed an indictment at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for assaulting a spouse and obstructing a police officer in the line of duty.