The vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem on Friday called an Israeli extremist’s assault on a French nun “extremely serious and despicable,” Anadolu reports.
On Wednesday, a 36-year-old Israeli man was arrested after assaulting a nun in East Jerusalem, according to Israeli police, in an attack they called “racially motivated.”
Bishop William Shomali told Anadolu he had watched video footage of the incident, describing it as “painful, alarming and extremely serious.”
“The nun is physically frail. The attacker shoved her forcefully from behind, causing her to fall to the ground after her head struck a raised stone tile. He then returned and stepped on her. A young Israeli man of Russian origin intervened and pulled him away, though his identity is unknown,” he added.
Shomali said “the way the nun fell could have led to her death, especially as she was pushed violently from behind.”
“The attacker returning to kick her after she was already injured makes the crime even more severe. This is a despicable act,” he said.
Shomali warned that “the use of the word ‘death’ is repeated in some slogans used by Israeli extremists.”
On the arrest of the attacker, he said police “did not respond quickly in previous similar incidents, but their action this time is to their credit, and justice requires acknowledging this level of attention and follow-up.”
He added that “the nun filing a formal complaint before being transferred to the hospital was an important factor in advancing the case,” noting that “the absence of complaints in other cases often led to a lack of follow-up.”
Shomali stressed “the need to re-educate those who hold racist ideologies,” adding that the attacker “will be tried under Israeli law,” and that “the police themselves described what happened as “a racist assault and called the crime by its proper name.”
READ: Christian nun injured in settler attack in Jerusalem
Rise in Israeli attacks on Christian, Muslim clergy
Police, who have been criticized for not acting in previous similar cases, released an image Wednesday showing the nun with a head injury.
They said they “view all forms of violence with seriousness, particularly attacks motivated by racism targeting clergy.”
The Times of Israel daily reported that the nun works at the French Biblical and Archaeological School, without providing further details about her identity or nationality.
Hundreds of clergy and nuns from around the world serve in churches and religious institutions in East Jerusalem.
Recent years have seen a noticeable rise in attacks by Israelis on Muslim and Christian clergy and on holy sites in Jerusalem.
Church leaders in Jerusalem have repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to act decisively to stop such attacks.
The attack follows a video last month showing an Israeli soldier taking a sledgehammer to a statue of Jesus, in a widely condemned incident.
The assault comes as violence by Israeli forces and occupiers in the occupied West Bank since October 2023 has killed at least 1,155 Palestinians, wounded around 11,750, and led to the arrest of about 22,000 others, according to Palestinian figures.
READ: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem files complaint over Israeli occupiers’ encroachments on church-owned lands in West Bank
