A disturbing video capturing an assault on a French Catholic nun and archaeological researcher in Jerusalem has sparked widespread revulsion, with Israel's foreign ministry denouncing it as a 'shameful act'. The footage, obtained by CCTV, shows a man sprinting up behind the nun as she walks along a street, forcefully shoving her to the ground. The victim narrowly avoids hitting her head on a stone block. After walking away briefly, the attacker—reportedly Jewish—returns to kick the nun while she lies on the ground, stopping only when a passerby intervenes.
Victim's Condition and Police Response
The nun sustained facial grazes but was not seriously injured. Israeli police confirmed the arrest of a 36-year-old suspect, stating they would 'continue to act with a heavy hand and zero tolerance' to maintain safety for all ethnicities and religions in Jerusalem. The assault occurred on Mount Zion, near King David's tomb—a site sacred to Jews—and the Cenacle, traditionally regarded by Christians as the location of the Last Supper.
International Condemnation
The French consulate strongly condemned the attack, calling for the perpetrator to face justice. Father Olivier Poquillon, director of the French School of Biblical and Archeological Research in Jerusalem, identified the nun as a researcher at the school and demanded a firm response from authorities. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem described the incident as part of a 'troubling pattern of rising hostility toward the Christian community', emphasizing that an attack on its scholars is an attack on the global scientific community.
Broader Context of Rising Hostility
Israel's foreign ministry issued a statement asserting that the attack contradicts the nation's values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom. However, the ruling coalition government has been criticized for fostering religious nationalism. Palestinian Christian communities in the West Bank have faced increasing harassment from Israeli settlers in recent years. The government has been embarrassed by a surge in hostility toward Christian clerics in Jerusalem, especially as viral online incidents coincide with declining Israeli popularity in the West.
Last month, an Israeli soldier was filmed vandalizing a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon; both the soldier and his accomplice received 30-day jail sentences, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing shock and sadness. The Religious Freedom Data Centre (RFDC), a network of Israeli volunteers, recorded 31 incidents of harassment against Christians in the first quarter of this year, mostly involving spitting or defacing church property. While the violent attack this week is highly unusual, the RFDC noted that their figures likely understate the problem, as Orthodox congregations often refrain from reporting incidents. A monastery in Mea Shearim recounted that children regularly spat and cursed the name of Jesus when they ventured outside, though they could not specify the frequency.
