Police Arrest 36-Year-Old Man for Assaulting French Nun at Jerusalem’s Cenacle

A French nun working as a researcher in Jerusalem was violently assaulted in the city’s Old City on April 27, with police later arresting a suspect and releasing footage of the attack.

“An assault on a French nun by an Israeli settler in the Old City of Jerusalem has sparked a wave of indignation among local Christian communities and in European chancelleries”

Africtelegraph

Catholic Herald described the nun as “a French nun” affiliated with the École Biblique et Archéologique Française, who “suffered bruises to her head and other injuries after being thrown to the ground and kicked repeatedly.”

Africtelegraph

The attack occurred “in front of the Cenacle, on Mount Zion close to King David’s Tomb,” a site venerated by Christians as the location of the Upper Room of the Last Supper and by Jews as the traditional tomb of King David, according to The Catholic Herald.

CathNews, citing OSV News, said Israeli police announced the arrest of a man suspected in the assault of “a French nun working in Jerusalem as a researcher,” and that the investigation was launched after the assault was reported.

The Times of Israel said police arrested a “36-year-old male” suspected of assaulting the nun “in Jerusalem the previous day,” and later released video showing the suspect running up from behind and shoving her to the ground.

The Times of Israel also quoted Father Olivier Poquillon describing the moment of the assault: “Yesterday, around 5:45 p.m. (1445 GMT) … she felt someone come up behind her and throw her with full force onto a rock,” and added, “While the sister was on the ground, the man began to kick her repeatedly.”

Across reports, the nun’s injuries were visible in police-shared footage, with CathNews noting police posted “an image of the bruised right side of the injured nun’s head.”

Israeli police said the suspect was arrested and that the case was being treated with “utmost severity,” while multiple outlets reported that authorities sought to extend his detention.

CathNews said Israeli police launched an investigation after the assault was reported, leading to the man’s arrest, and that “his detention is expected to be extended,” quoting police: “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.”

Al-Jazeera Net

The Times of Israel reported that police arrested the suspect on Tuesday, “the same day as the attack,” and that on Thursday police released footage of the assault, with the force saying it viewed with “utmost severity” any violent act “driven by potentially racist motives and directed toward members of the clergy.”

RTE.ie similarly quoted the police statement that the suspect was “a 36-year-old male” and that police viewed with “utmost severity” any violent act “driven by potentially racist motives and directed toward members of the clergy,” adding that police declined to disclose the suspect’s nationality to AFP.

Daily Sabah said police arrested “a 36-year-old man suspected of assaulting a French nun in Jerusalem,” and that police received a report on Tuesday about an assault on a nun in East Jerusalem, then located and arrested the suspect “after an extensive search.”

Daily Sabah also stated that police were “set to request the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court later Wednesday to extend his detention.”

TRT World reported that police declined to confirm whether the attacker was an Israeli settler, while still repeating police’s “utmost severity” language and stating the suspect was arrested “on suspicion of assault, with all potential motives under examination.”

The Times of Israel added a detail about the suspect’s clothing, saying the man was “wearing the tzitzit Jewish ritual men’s undergarment,” and reported that police would request an extension of the suspect’s remand.

Multiple named figures condemned the assault and called for accountability, while also describing it as part of a broader climate affecting Christian clergy.

“New anti-Christian act in the Holy Land”

Aleteia

Father Olivier Poquillon, director of the École Biblique, condemned the incident as an “unprovoked assault” and an act of “sectarian violence,” according to The Catholic Herald, and CathNews reported that the Dominican priest took to X to condemn the “unprovoked assault” as an “act of sectarian violence” and called on authorities to “act swiftly and firmly.”

The French Consulate General in Jerusalem also condemned the attack, with CathNews quoting the consulate calling for the attacker “to be brought to justice for this act and for justice to be served.”

The Israel Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and extended sympathies, with The Times of Israel reporting that Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “shameful act” and said Jerusalem remained committed “to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths.”

The Hebrew University’s Faculty of Comparative Religion and the faculty of humanities at the Hebrew University both described the assault as part of a “troubling pattern,” with Middle East Eye quoting the Hebrew University saying the attack was “not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols.”

Middle East Eye also quoted the university’s framing of Jerusalem’s values, saying, “We view this violence as a direct assault on the fundamental values of Jerusalem - a city whose strength lies in its religious pluralism and its commitment to safe, open dialogue.”

RTE.ie reported that the Faculty of Humanities at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University expressed “profound shock and condemnation” and said, “This is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols.”

TRT World similarly quoted the faculty’s language and added that a European diplomatic source in Jerusalem said the assault “occurred 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.”

Several outlets placed the nun’s assault within a wider set of incidents and restrictions affecting Christian communities in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, while also referencing other events that drew international attention.

Middle East Eye said the attack came “amid growing concern over Israeli attacks against Christians,” and it described the Hebrew University’s view that the assault was “part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols.”

CathNews

The outlet also pointed to last month’s episode in which Israeli police blocked “Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and other clergy from performing Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” adding that “access was later partially restored.”

Middle East Eye quoted Pizzaballa’s pastoral letter, saying, “The Holy Places, which should be spaces for prayer, are becoming battlegrounds about identity. Sacred texts are invoked to justify violence, occupation, and terrorism,” and added, “I believe this abuse of God’s name is the gravest sin of our time.”

It also referenced an earlier incident in which an Israeli soldier was filmed “smashing a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon,” and said the Israeli army later removed the soldier involved from combat duty and sentenced them to 30 days.

TRT World and RTE.ie both described the assault as occurring in a context of rising hostility toward the Christian community and its symbols, with TRT World citing a European diplomatic source saying anti-Christian acts had become commonplace, including “insults and spitting by (Jewish) extremists targeting clergy in religious dress on a daily basis.”

Daily Sabah and Middle East Eye both tied the assault to broader concerns about attacks targeting Christians in the region, with Daily Sabah saying “Recent years have seen a noticeable rise in attacks by Israelis against Christian and Muslim clergy, as well as against religious sites in the occupied city.”

Middle East Eye further cited a Rossing Centre for Education and Dialogue report that documented what it described as a “continued and expanding pattern of intimidation and aggression” and said it recorded “155 incidents in 2025,” including “61 physical assaults” and “52 attacks on church property.”

It also said “More than 200 Christian teachers are reportedly at risk of losing their jobs” after Israel’s Education Ministry barred teachers holding Palestinian-issued teaching permits from working in Israel.

European-facing reporting and European institutions’ reactions were prominent in the coverage of the nun’s assault, while other European outlets broadened the frame to include violence and impunity in the occupied West Bank.

“Israeli police arrested a 36-year-old man suspected of assaulting a French nun in Jerusalem, authorities said Wednesday, as concerns grow over rising attacks targeting Christians in the region”

Daily Sabah

CathNews said the attack drew condemnation from the French Consulate General in Jerusalem, which called for the attacker “to be brought to justice for this act and for justice to be served.”

Daily Sabah

The Times of Israel reported that France “strongly condemns” the attack and called for the perpetrator “to be brought to justice for this act and for justice to be served,” and it also noted that Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the “shameful act” and said Jerusalem remained committed “to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths.”

Ouest-France provided a broader European framing of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, saying the war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza “since October 7 has given extremist Jewish settlers a pretext to intensify their violent operations against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.”

Ouest-France also cited figures and legal claims, including that the West Bank is where “2.8 million Palestinians live” and that “more than 700,000 Israeli settlers are now installed in nearly 300 settlements,” attributing those figures to B’Tselem.

Vatican News, meanwhile, described European church leadership concerns about violence in Taybeh, saying patriarchs and heads of the Churches of Jerusalem lamented “an alarming pattern of violence by Israeli settlers” and urged the Israeli government to “bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.”

L’Opinion similarly described Taybeh as a Christian village “subjected to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers,” and it quoted Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa saying, “The only law is the law of force.”

Across these accounts, European institutions and European-facing outlets tied the immediate assault to wider concerns about religious freedom, accountability, and the protection of Christian communities in places tied to Christian heritage.