Israeli authorities have arrested Yonah Schreiber, a Jewish man suspected of brutally attacking a Catholic nun in Jerusalem on Tuesday.
The victim works at the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem but was not identified. According to reports, Schreiber, aged 36, is the suspect in the violent incident. Video footage shows the attacker running up behind the unsuspecting nun near the Tomb of David, shoving her to the ground, and then kicking her in the side before fleeing. The attack occurred at the Cenacle—a site of profound religious significance where Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles.
Israeli police stated they enforce a zero-tolerance policy toward violent acts targeting religious figures, describing such incidents as met with “utmost severity.” Police confirmed Schreiber was wearing a tzitzit, a ritual knotted cord associated with Jewish religious practice.
The Religious Freedom Data Center, established in 2023 to track anti-Christian violence, reports that 181 such attacks occurred last year and over 30 this year alone. These incidents include 22 cases of spitting, six defaced signs, and two vandalisms.
“The Israel Foreign Ministry strongly condemns this despicable attack,” the ministry stated in a separate declaration. It extended sympathies to the nun and solidarity with the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Father Olivier Poquillon, Dominican priest and head of the French school where the victim works, described hatred as “a common challenge.” Christian Palestinian human rights activist Ihab Hassan and the anti-terrorist Israel Dog Unit also identified Schreiber as the suspect.
Additional incidents have been documented, including video footage circulating online showing a man spitting on the ground in front of Jerusalem’s Cathedral of St. James. The Religious Freedom Data Center notes attacks escalate during Jewish and Christian holy days, with leading rabbis condemning such acts.
This incident follows reports of an Israeli soldier destroying a crucifix in southern Lebanon and demolishing religious structures in Lebanese border villages. Independent journalist Mario Nawfal documented that at least nine religious sites—including churches, mosques, and UNESCO-protected Roman-era shrines—were destroyed across the border. Former U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has called for American Christians to “speak out” and stop funding Israel over such atrocities, while independent journalist Glenn Greenwald noted some Christian Zionists may justify actions by claiming soldiers acted in self-defense against Hezbollah or Hamas.