Man, 36, to be charged for assaulting French nun in Jerusalem

[ad_1] Police on Sunday named Yona Schreiber, 36, as the person suspected of assaulting a French nun in Jerusalem final week, as prosecutors ready to cost him over the assault.

The Israel Police stated that it submitted a prosecutor’s assertion to the Jerusalem Justice of the Peace’s Court docket on Sunday, and requested to increase Schreiber’s remand till expenses are filed and authorized proceedings in opposition to him are accomplished.

He was arrested on Tuesday, the day of the assault.

Footage of the assault launched by police final week confirmed the suspect, who's carrying “tzitzit,” a Jewish ritual males’s undergarment, operating up from behind the nun and shoving her to the bottom.

He's then seen strolling away earlier than returning to kick the lady whereas she remains to be mendacity on the bottom.

Get The Occasions of Israel's Every day Version by electronic mail and by no means miss our prime tales

By signing up, you comply with the terms The person then scuffles briefly with a passerby, who seems to try to intervene within the assault.

Following a report of an assault in opposition to a nun in Jerusalem, officers responded instantly, launching an investigation that led to the arrest of a suspect. A request to increase his detention is predicted.

The Israel Police treats any assault on members of the clergy and spiritual… pic.twitter.com/1e0W8bobpo

— Israel Police (@israelpolice) April 29, 2026

The assault occurred in entrance of the Cenacle, a constructing on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion thought of holy to each Christians and Jews, the latter of whom regard it because the burial place of the biblical King David.

Footage shared by police confirmed bruises on the suitable aspect of the nun’s face.

Olivier Poquillon, the director of the French College of Biblical and Archaeological Analysis, stated the nun was a researcher on the college. He known as the assault an “act of sectarian violence” in a publish on X final week.

Wadie Abunassar, the coordinator of the Holy Land Christian Discussion board, final week known as assaults focusing on Christians a rising phenomenon. He attributed the fast response to the assault on the nun to the truth that it was caught on video.

He stated he felt “nice anger on the system and nice unhappiness as a result of I really feel that this is not going to finish anytime quickly.” One of many issues, he stated, was the deterrence in opposition to such violence.

“Many occasions in such instances there are not any arrests, and if there are arrests, generally after one or two days, (suspects) are launched,” he added. “In some instances, the police don't advocate the prosecution to file expenses or to indict them. And in some instances, when there's indictment, the indictment is gentle.”

Tensions have flared in latest weeks between Christian communities in Israel and the federal government, with police briefly blocking prime Catholic clergy from getting into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre forward of Easter resulting from restrictions on gatherings in the course of the Iran battle, and Israeli troopers drawing widespread condemnation for bludgeoning a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon.

תקיפת הנזירה אתמול באזור קבר דוד בירושלים – שוטרי מרחב דוד איתרו את החשוד (36) ועצרו אותו בחשד לתקיפה ממניע גזעני >>> pic.twitter.com/agRpznR84X

— משטרת ישראל (@IL_police) April 30, 2026

The Catholic clergy had been finally granted entry to the church for an Easter ceremony, and two troopers concerned in vandalizing the statue had been taken off fight obligation and punished.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, additionally took intention final 12 months on the Israeli authorities for treating Christian organizations as “adversaries.”

The latest tensions comply with years of assaults on Christians within the Outdated Metropolis by Orthodox Jews. An epidemic of spitting assaults, typically by yeshiva college students who subscribe to an excessive interpretation of the Bible’s injunction to “abhor” idol worshipers, spurred rabbinic rebuke up to now, however such incidents have endured.

Lazar Berman and Companies contributed to this report.

Which beautiful fowl do you like?

THIS MONTH ONLY: Be part of our reader assist group for as little as $6/month and obtain an unique tote bag that includes one in all Israel’s native birds.

Select between the Duchifat (orange), Israel's nationwide fowl, or the Shaldag (blue), a beloved image of the Israeli panorama.

As a member of the Occasions of Israel Group, you may additionally take pleasure in:

An ad-free expertise of our website and podcasts. Unique entry to award-winning movies through DocuNation. Weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

Join ToI Community & claim my bag

CLAIM YOUR BAG

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this

You respect our wartime journalism

We’re actually happy that you just’ve learn X Occasions of Israel articles up to now month.

You clearly discover our cautious reporting of the Iran battle invaluable, at a time when information are sometimes distorted and information protection typically lacks context.

Your assist is crucial to proceed our work. We wish to proceed delivering the skilled journalism you worth, even because the calls for on our newsroom have grown dramatically throughout this ongoing battle.

So immediately, please think about becoming a member of our reader assist group, The Occasions of Israel Group . For as little as $6 a month you may develop into our companions whereas having fun with The Occasions of Israel AD-FREE , in addition to accessing unique content material out there solely to Occasions of Israel Group members.

Thanks, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Occasions of Israel

Join Our Community

Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '272776440645465'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); [ad_2] Source link