Man Arrested Following Disturbing Incident Involving Nun in Israel

In a recent development, Israeli police announced the arrest of a 36-year-old individual captured on video assaulting a nun near Jerusalem’s Old City. This incident marks another distressing event targeting Christians in the area.

The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, was detained following the attack that took place on Wednesday near David’s Tomb. This location, a revered site just outside Zion’s Gate on the southern edge of the Old City, was the scene of the crime that authorities are investigating as a “racially motivated attack.” The individual remains in police custody.

Footage from the police revealed the nun with visible bruises and the alleged assailant donning tzitzit, a traditional fringed garment worn by some devout Jewish men.

Olivier Poquillon, who leads the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, identified the victim as a researcher at the institution. He condemned the incident as an “act of sectarian violence” in a statement on platform X.

The Old City, located in the Israeli-annexed eastern part of Jerusalem, is a historic enclave rich with centuries of history. It serves as a spiritual epicenter for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, housing significant religious sites for each faith.

It’s also a flashpoint for tensions as access and ownership to the sites are deeply entangled with the historical and political claims that lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Religious groups have documented a rise in acts of harassment and violence against Christian pilgrims and clergy as well as Palestinian Christian residents, including assaults and spitting, often by ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshiva students.

‘Great sadness’

In a social media post about the man arrested over the recent attack, Israeli police said: “In a city sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, we remain committed to protecting all communities and ensuring those responsible for violence are held accountable”.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry echoed those sentiments, writing on social media: “This shameful act stands in direct contradiction to the values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom upon which Israel is founded and to which it remains deeply committed.”

However, Wadie Abunassar, the coordinator of the Holy Land Christian Forum, said attacks targeting Christians were a growing phenomenon in Israel.

In his opinion, the relatively quick response from authorities to the attack on the nun was due to it being caught on video, he added.

He said he felt “great anger on the system and great sadness because I feel that this will not end anytime soon”.

One of the problems, he said, was a lack of meaningful deterrence against such violence.

“Many times in such cases there are no arrests, and if there are arrests, sometimes after one or two days, (suspects) are released,” he added.

“In some cases, the police do not recommend the prosecution to file charges or to indict them. And in some cases, when there is indictment, the indictment is mild.”

The arrest comes as Israeli treatment of religious minorities is under scrutiny, weeks after police limited access for holiday worship to Muslims as well as Christians, up to the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

‘A persistent and worrying pattern’

In December, a report from the Council of Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem — a formal assembly of leaders from historical Christian denominations in Israel — raised concerns about similar issues.

The report said the Christian community in the country “continues to face escalating violence, economic hardship, and restrictions on worship, with churches, schools, and hospitals suffering damage”.

“Threats to Christian heritage — particularly in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza alongside issues of unjustified taxation — are the source of ongoing concerns that threaten the existence of the community and the churches,” it wrote.

The Rossing Centre, an inter-religious organisation in Jerusalem dedicated to fostering an inclusive society for all religions, documented 155 incidents of violence and harassment against Christians in Israel in 2025.

Physical attacks against Christians accounted for 61 of those incidents, while the group found 52 cases of vandalism against Church properties, 28 cases of harassment, and 14 instances of public signs with Christian content being defaced.

“While these figures represent only ‘the tip of the iceberg’, they nevertheless reflect a persistent and worrying pattern in which both overt violence and everyday humiliations accumulate into a broader atmosphere of exclusion,” the report said.

In recent weeks, Israel has also faced international criticism after a soldier photographed himself having bludgeoned a fallen statue of Jesus on the cross with an axe in southern Lebanon.

Israel’s military later said it had removed two soldiers from combat duty and placed them in military detention for 30 days over the incident.

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