Israeli police arrested a 36-year-old suspect Friday who is accused of beating a nun in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Footage shows a man running up from behind a nun, violently pushing her to the ground and kicking her in the stomach area. Police said the man was arrested “on suspicion of a racially motivated attack” at a time where there has been a rise in targeted attacks against Christians.
“The Israel Police 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,” Israeli police said in a statement. “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.”
Jerusalem police have arrested a 36-ear-old man after a nun was violently attacked in the city’s Old City.
A nun…. pic.twitter.com/7HQVMvZoFC— Adam Parsons (@adamparsons) May 1, 2026
Olivier Poquillon, the director of the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, confirmed that the nun was a researcher at his organization and called the attack an “act of sectarian violence.”
The nun was attacked near the Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper, and suffered bruising. The attacker wore a tzitzit, a fringed undergarment worn by some observant Jewish men.
Religious groups have recorded a rise in assaults on Palestinian Christians and Christian pilgrims in Israel, particularly by ultra-Orthodox Jewish yeshiva students, according to The Associated Press. Wadie Abunassar, the coordinator of the Holy Land Christian Forum, said police often make no arrests when these anti-Christian attacks occur and that suspects are frequently released quickly.
“Many times in such cases there are no arrests and if there are arrests, sometimes after one or two days, (suspects) are released,” Abunassar said. “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 treatment of Christians in Israel has come under scrutiny in recent months. Police blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from celebrating Palm Sunday mass at the Holy Sepulchre, the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, during Holy Week due to the ongoing tensions during the Iran war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered officials to grant Pizzaballa access to the site once he learned of the situation.
An Israeli soldier desecrated a family’s crucifix in Lebanon with a sledgehammer. Netanyahu said he was “stunned and saddened” by the soldier’s actions, while the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating the incident.
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