{"id":765404,"date":"2026-05-01T06:53:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T06:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/765404\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T06:53:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T06:53:25","slug":"police-arrest-man-for-attacking-french-nun-at-jerusalem-biblical-site-release-video-of-vicious-assault","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/765404\/","title":{"rendered":"Police arrest man for attacking French nun at Jerusalem biblical site, release video of vicious assault"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police said Wednesday they had arrested a Jewish man suspected of assaulting a French nun in Jerusalem the previous day, saying they had a zero-tolerance policy on attacks against religious figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspect, a 36-year-old male, was identified and subsequently arrested by police,\u201d the force said in a statement, adding it viewed with \u201cutmost severity\u201d any violent act \u201cdriven by potentially racist motives and directed toward members of the clergy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday, the same day as the attack.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, police released footage of the assault, which showed the suspect running up from behind the nun and shoving her to the ground.<\/p>\n

The suspect, who is wearing the tzitzit Jewish ritual men\u2019s undergarment, is then seen walking away before returning to kick the woman while she is still lying on the ground.<\/p>\n

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The man then scuffles briefly with a passerby, who appears to attempt to intervene in the assault.<\/p>\n

Father Olivier Poquillon, director of Jerusalem\u2019s French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, told AFP the 48-year-old nun was a researcher at the institution and does not wish to speak publicly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday, around 5:45 p.m. (1445 GMT) \u2026 she felt someone come up behind her and throw her with full force onto a rock,\u201d Poquillon said, describing Tuesday\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the sister was on the ground, the man began to kick her repeatedly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The assault occurred in front of the Cenacle, a building on Jerusalem\u2019s Mount Zion considered holy to both Christians and Jews, the latter of whom regard it as the burial place of the biblical figure King David.<\/p>\n

Footage shared by police showed bruises on the right side of the nun\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

The force also reported the arrest in an English-language post on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing a report of an assault against a nun in Jerusalem, officers responded immediately, launching an investigation that led to the arrest of a suspect,\u201d police wrote on the social media platform.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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,\u201d the force said.<\/p>\n

\n

Following a report of an assault against a nun in Jerusalem, officers responded immediately, launching an investigation that led to the arrest of a suspect. A request to extend his detention is expected.<\/p>\n

The Israel Police treats any attack on members of the clergy and religious\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/1e0W8bobpo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Israel Police (@israelpolice) April 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Police said they would request an extension of the suspect\u2019s remand.\n<\/p>\n

Contacted by AFP, police declined to disclose the suspect\u2019s nationality, but said he was arrested \u201con suspicion of assault, with all potential motives under examination.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Poquillon had denounced the \u201cgratuitous assault\u201d in a statement on X, which was reposted by the French Consulate in Jerusalem with a statement \u201cstrongly condemning\u201d the incident.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tThe Cenacle (from Latin cenaculum), also known as the Upper Room, traditional site of The Last Supper, August 24 2009. (Yossi Zamir\/Flash 90)<\/p>\n

France said it \u201cstrongly condemns\u201d the attack, and called for the perpetrator \u201cto be brought to justice for this act and for justice to be served.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry also condemned the \u201cshameful act\u201d in a statement on X, and said Jerusalem remained committed \u201cto safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths.\u201d<\/p>\n

The faculty of humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which said the nun\u2019s school was a partner organization, expressed \u201cprofound shock and condemnation\u201d for the attack, and deplored its increasingly common nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols,\u201d the statement read. \u201cAs scholars of history and culture, we view this violence as a direct assault on the fundamental values of Jerusalem \u2013 a city whose strength lies in its religious pluralism and its commitment to safe, open dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

A European diplomatic source in Jerusalem also noted that the assault \u201coccurred in a context where anti-Christian acts have become commonplace, with insults and spitting by [Jewish] extremists targeting clergy in religious dress on a daily basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tA police officer stands guard outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, as the church remains closed due to the war, March 30, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

Tensions have flared in recent weeks between Christian communities in Israel and the government, with police briefly blocking top Catholic clergy from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre ahead of Easter due to restrictions on gatherings during the Iran war, and Israeli soldiers drawing widespread condemnation for bludgeoning a statue<\/a> of Jesus in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

The Catholic clergy were eventually granted access to the church<\/a> for an Easter ceremony, and two soldiers involved in vandalizing the statue were taken off combat duty<\/a> and punished.<\/p>\n

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, also took aim last year at the Israeli government for treating Christian organizations as \u201cadversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recent tensions follow years of attacks on Christians in the Old City by Orthodox Jews. An epidemic of spitting attacks, often by yeshiva students who subscribe to an extreme interpretation of the Bible\u2019s injunction to \u201cabhor\u201d idol worshipers, spurred rabbinic rebuke in the past, but such incidents have persisted.<\/p>\n


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