An Israeli court acquitted Yona Schreiber, a 36-year-old Jewish man, of assaulting a French nun in Jerusalem’s Old City, ruling that he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time and was not criminally responsible for his actions. The Jerusalem Magistrates Court ordered Schreiber to be committed to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years. The incident, captured on CCTV, involved Schreiber pushing over and kicking the nun, who suffered a bruised face and leg after hitting her head on a stone block.

The attack, which occurred in April, drew widespread condemnation, including from the French Consulate in Jerusalem, the director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School, and Israel’s foreign ministry. The ministry denounced the assault as a “shameful act” that contradicts Israel’s values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom. The court’s decision was based on a district psychiatrist’s report, which concluded that Schreiber was in a psychotic state and unfit to stand trial. The prosecution accepted this opinion and requested Schreiber’s acquittal and hospitalization. The article also notes a broader context of increasing harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims by Jewish extremists in the Old City, including incidents of spitting and aggressive behavior towards those displaying Christian religious dress or symbols, as well as vandalism of church properties and disputes over settler takeovers of church sites. Read more at Yahoo News

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