Suspect charged after brutal assault on nun in Jerusalem

An Israeli man accused of attacking a French Catholic nun in Jerusalem has been formally charged with assault motivated by religious hostility, Israel’s state attorney’s office said on Thursday, May 7.

The incident occurred on April 28 in the Old City of Jerusalem and drew condemnation from Christian clergy in the city. It comes against a backdrop of increasing reports of harassment targeting religious officials and pilgrims by religious Jews in the area, which contains sites sacred to Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

The suspect, Yonah Shreiber, 36, was arrested one day after the attack. CCTV footage captured the sequence of events, showing the attacker—wearing a Jewish kippah and ritual tassels—chasing the nun from behind before pushing her to the ground. The footage also shows him kicking a passerby who attempted to intervene.

According to the state attorney’s office, the man “was charged with assault causing actual injury motivated by hostility toward the public on the grounds of religion, as well as simple assault.” Reuters reported that it was not immediately able to identify legal representation for the suspect.

The nun sustained bruises to her face and leg as a result of the attack, the statement added.

Prosecutors have requested that the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court keep the suspect in detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

Members of Jerusalem’s Christian community say the Old City of Jerusalem has in recent years witnessed repeated incidents in which religious Jews spit at Christian sites or otherwise attempt to intimidate Christians and clergy.

In response, Israel’s police force said it continues efforts to prevent such acts. Following the April 28 attack, it stated that it “treats any attack on members of the clergy and religious communities with the utmost seriousness and applies a policy of zero tolerance to all acts of violence”.

By Tamilla Hasanova