A French Catholic nun was violently assaulted near one of Jerusalem’s most sacred Christian sites last week, drawing condemnation from France, Christian leaders, and the Israeli government, and reigniting a broader debate about the safety of Christians in Israel.
Israeli police arrested a 36-year-old Jewish man in connection with the assault, which occurred Tuesday near David’s Tomb outside Zion’s Gate on the southern edge of the Old City.
Surveillance footage released by police shows the suspect approaching the nun from behind, shoving her forcefully onto a rock, then returning to kick her as she lay on the ground. A passerby intervened to stop the attack.
The victim, a 48-year-old researcher at the French Biblical and Archaeological School in Jerusalem, sustained a severe graze to her head and facial injuries.
The institute’s director, Fr. Olivier Poquillon, condemned the “unprovoked assault” as an “act of sectarian violence” and called on authorities to act swiftly.
Israeli police described the assault as “racially motivated.” The Israeli Foreign Ministry called the attack a “shameful act” that contradicts Israel’s values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom.
The French Consulate in Jerusalem strongly condemned the attack and demanded justice. France has called for accountability over what it describes as rising “anti-Christian” violence in Israel.
The Hebrew University’s Faculty of Comparative Religion called the incident a “heinous hate crime” and described it as part of a “deeply disturbing rise in Christianophobia” across Jerusalem and Israel.
The data supports that concern. According to the Religious Freedom Data Center, a Jerusalem-based group monitoring incidents affecting religious freedom, an estimated 181 incidents of harassment targeting Christians, Christian symbols, and Christian institutions were recorded in Israel in 2025, with an additional 44 incidents documented between January and March 2026.
The assault is the latest in a series of incidents straining relations between Christian communities and Israeli authorities. Last month, two Israeli soldiers were removed from combat duty after a photo emerged showing one apparently taking an axe or sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus in a Christian village in southern Lebanon, an incident separate from but related to the broader pattern, drawing rare condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Jerusalem police also briefly blocked senior Catholic clergy from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday before granting access for Easter ceremonies.
According to reports, the attack occurred amid a broader pattern in which extremist individuals regularly insult and spit at clergy in religious attire, a trend Christian leaders say reflects a culture of impunity that authorities have been slow to address.
The Latin Patriarchate and Christian leaders in Jerusalem have called on Israeli authorities to take concrete action through legislation, education, and enforcement to address what they describe as a dangerous and growing trend against Christians in the Holy Land.
