A disturbing video showing a man deliberately shoving a French Catholic nun and archaeological researcher to the ground in Jerusalem has sparked widespread outrage, with Israel’s foreign ministry condemning the assault as a “disgraceful act.”
Footage shows violent push and kick
The footage shows a man running up behind the nun as she walks down a street and forcefully pushing her, causing the victim to nearly strike her head against a stone block. After stepping back a few paces, the attacker – who appears to be Jewish – returns to kick the nun as she lies on the ground, stopping only when a passer-by intervenes.
The nun suffered facial grazes but reportedly sustained no serious injuries. Israeli police said they had arrested a 36-year-old man and that law enforcement “will continue to act with firmness and zero tolerance to preserve a proper and secure way of life for people of all nationalities and faiths in the city of Jerusalem.”
Attack near holy sites on Mount Zion
The attack took place on Mount Zion, close to a site revered by the Jewish people as the tomb of King David, and the Cenacle, which Christians traditionally regard as the location of the Last Supper.
The French consulate strongly condemned the attack and said on the X platform: “France calls for the perpetrator of this aggression to be held accountable for this act and for justice to prevail.”
The director of the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, Father Olivier Poquillon, said the nun was a research fellow at the institution and added that he expected a firm response from the authorities.
“Worrying trend of hostility” – Hebrew University
“This is not an isolated incident but part of a worrying trend of rising hostility towards the Christian community and its symbols,” the Hebrew University of Jerusalem stated, noting that the victim was “a valued academic partner in uncovering the heritage of this land.”
“An attack on its scholars is an attack on the global scientific community,” the university said in a statement quoted by the Jerusalem Post.
Meanwhile, French MEP François-Xavier Bellamy on X said:
“It is absolutely right to condemn the assault on the nun in Jerusalem, and more broadly the growing acts of aggression against Christians by fanatics claiming to defend Judaism. Yet those who limit their condemnation to this remain strangely silent about the obvious: for many years, the threat to Christians in the Middle East has come from Islamism – often met with complete indifference from the West. That threat is of an entirely different magnitude. And when I hear our government equate Israel with Hezbollah – just days after this Islamist militia killed two French soldiers – I am filled with deep dismay. Our country is discrediting itself, instead of taking a clear stance and playing the active role it must play to rid Lebanon and the entire region of this existential danger.”
