Israeli Settler Yona Simcha Schreiber Referred For Trial Over Assault On French Nun In Jerusalem

An Israeli settler, identified as Yona Simcha Schreiber, 36, was referred for trial after an assault on a French Catholic nun on Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, just outside the Old City.

The attack involved the nun, described as a 48-year-old researcher at Jerusalem’s French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, being pushed to the ground and then kicked, with surveillance footage showing the attacker rushing toward her before returning to kick her.

Al Jazeera

The Israeli justice ministry said the case involves a charge of assault motivated by hostility toward a religious group, and that Schreiber has been under arrest since 29 April.

The TRT World report said Israeli police arrested a man suspected of assaulting the nun the previous day and declined to confirm reports that the attacker was an Israeli settler, while saying it viewed with "utmost severity" any violent act "driven by potentially racist motives".

The incident also drew condemnation from the Faculty of Humanities at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, which said, "This is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility towards the Christian community and its symbols."

French diplomatic and religious voices condemned the assault, with the French Consulate in Jerusalem demanding that the attacker be brought to trial and the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University expressing "profound shock and condemnation".

TRT World quoted Father Olivier Poquillon, director of Jerusalem's French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, describing that "she felt someone come up behind her and throw her with full force onto a rock" and that "the man began to kick her repeatedly".

Al-Jazeera Net

Euronews reported that the Israeli Ministry of Justice described the case as religiously motivated and said surveillance footage showed the suspect forcefully pushing the nun so her head struck stones.

Euronews also reported that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the assault as a "despicable act" and called for deterrent punishment for the attacker.

In parallel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemned the assault as a "despicable act" and said Israel remained "firmly committed to protecting freedom of religion and worship for all confessions."

The Israeli justice process described in the sources centers on detention and the motive, with the prosecution asking that Schreiber remain in detention until the trial and the charge framed as "assault causing injuries motivated by hostility toward a religious group."

Franceinfo reported that on May 7 the Israeli justice announced Schreiber would be tried for aggravated assault motivated by hostility toward a religious group, and said the public prosecutor’s office requested he be held in detention until the trial.

The indictment details in Franceinfo placed the assault on April 28 near the site known as the Tomb of David on Mount Zion adjacent to the Old City, and said the nun was wearing white and a black veil when she was shoved from behind.

Beyond the courtroom, the sources connect the case to broader concerns about attacks on Christian clergy and institutions, with TRT World saying the incident renewed concern over a pattern of attacks targeting Christian clergy and institutions.

Euronews said the attack sparked a wave of official condemnations and noted that Wadie Abu Nassar warned that hate speech embraced by some extremists has begun turning into "field violence" targeting religious figures and symbols.