TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli prosecutors have formally charged a 36-year-old man with assault following his attack on a Catholic nun near Jerusalem’s Old City, marking another incident in what religious leaders describe as escalating harassment against Christians in the region.
Court documents name the defendant as Yona Schreiber, a resident of Peduel, an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. The charges stem from an assault that was recorded on video and subsequently drew sharp criticism from international and religious authorities.
Following his arrest last week, Israel’s attorney general has requested that Schreiber remain in custody throughout the legal proceedings. When approached by Associated Press reporters at the courthouse, the defendant’s legal representative declined to provide comment.
Prosecutors allege that Schreiber targeted the woman specifically because her religious clothing marked her as a Catholic nun. The attack occurred just beyond the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, where he allegedly shoved the victim to the ground before kicking her while she lay defenseless, court papers state. The indictment also accuses him of assaulting a bystander who tried to intervene.
The formal charges include simple assault as well as assault driven by religious animosity.
Olivier Poquillon, who heads the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, confirmed that the victim works as a researcher at the institution. In a social media post, he characterized the incident as “an act of sectarian violence.”
Documentation by religious organizations shows an uptick in harassment and violent acts directed at Christian visitors, clergy, and Palestinian Christian locals, frequently involving spitting and physical assaults perpetrated by extremist ultra-Orthodox individuals.
This prosecution occurs amid heightened examination of Israel’s policies toward religious minorities, particularly following recent police restrictions on holiday worship access at Jerusalem’s most sacred locations due to security considerations during regional conflict with Iran.
In an unprecedented move, Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was barred from conducting a private Palm Sunday service at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — the first such prohibition in hundreds of years. Following significant backlash, Jerusalem authorities eventually negotiated an arrangement allowing a restricted Easter celebration at the historic site.
Israel faced additional international censure after a soldier was photographed using an axe to destroy a fallen crucifix statue in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials later condemned the action, announced disciplinary measures for the soldier, and helped local communities restore the damaged religious monument.
Military investigators are also examining another incident involving a soldier who was photographed placing a cigarette in the mouth of a Virgin Mary statue, an image apparently taken several weeks earlier. Military spokespeople described their response to the incident as treating it with “utmost severity.” Additional concerns have emerged regarding Israeli forces bulldozing portions of a Catholic convent in southern Lebanon.
In response to these various incidents, Israel’s Foreign Ministry last month named former Ambassador George Deek as special envoy to Christian communities worldwide. Deek, who previously represented Israel in Azerbaijan and holds the distinction of being the country’s first Arab Christian ambassador, has publicly denounced the soldier’s actions with the Virgin Mary statue.
Deek emphasized that Israel “is committed to preserving religious freedom and the dignity of all religions.”
Israel’s founding charter explicitly guarantees religious freedom protection and the sanctity of all holy sites, with the nation promoting itself as a beacon of religious tolerance within a turbulent region.
However, church officials and watchdog organizations have expressed concern about increasing anti-Christian attitudes and harassment. These tensions are especially evident within Jerusalem’s Old City, where ancient stone pathways wind through densely packed neighborhoods containing sacred sites for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Wadie Abunassar, who coordinates the Holy Land Christian Forum, recently described attacks on Christians as an emerging trend. He suggested the swift response to the nun’s assault resulted primarily from the existence of video evidence.
“I feel great anger on the system and great sadness, because I feel that this will not end anytime soon,” he stated. He identified inadequate deterrence as a fundamental issue contributing to such violence.
“Many times in such cases there are no arrests and if there are arrests, sometimes after one or two days, (suspects) are released,” he explained. “In some cases, the police do not recommend the prosecution to file charges or to indict them. And in some cases, when there is indictment, the indictment is mild.”
