JERUSALEM — An Israeli Jewish man has been formally indicted on charges of assault motivated by religious hatred after a shocking video showed him violently shoving a French Catholic nun to the ground and kicking her in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Yona Schreiber (also identified as Yonah Shreiber), 36, a resident of the Peduel settlement in the occupied West Bank, was indicted on Thursday, May 7, 2026 .

The indictment comes less than a week after the April 28 attack, which was captured on surveillance cameras near King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion . Footage shows Schreiber running up behind the 48-year-old nun, who was wearing a white habit and a black veil identifying her as a Catholic sister, and shoving her with force to the ground. While she lay there, the footage shows him kicking her .

The nun suffered bruises to her face and legs . A passerby who attempted to intervene was also punched and kicked during the incident .

⚖️ ‘Assault Caused by Religious Hatred’

Prosecutors said Schreiber targeted the nun explicitly because of her religious garb as a Catholic sister .

He has been charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and assault motivated by hostility toward a public because of religion — a hate crime enhancement that carries a penalty of up to six years in prison, double the standard sentence for assault . The charges also include simple assault for the attack on the intervening male bystander .

The prosecution has requested that Schreiber remain in custody until the conclusion of legal proceedings. The case was filed at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court .

📈 Rising Hostility Towards Clergy

The attack has drawn widespread condemnation amid a documented rise in harassment directed at Christian clergy and symbols in the region .

The French consulate in Jerusalem condemned the attack and demanded a trial; the Faculty of Humanities at the Hebrew University expressed “profound shock,” warning that “this is not an isolated incident, but part of a troubling pattern of rising hostility towards the Christian community and its symbols” .

This follows several other recent incidents, including an Israeli soldier filmed bludgeoning a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon and another placing a cigarette in the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary .

📋 Key Takeaways

• The Suspect: Yona Schreiber, 36, of the Peduel settlement .
• The Charges: Assault causing actual injury and assault motivated by religious hostility .
• The Victim: A 48-year-old French Catholic nun, a researcher at the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, who was shoved and kicked .
• The Incident: Unprovoked attack caught on CCTV near King David’s Tomb in Jerusalem’s Old City .
• The Legal Context: The hate crime enhancement carries up to six years in prison; prosecution requests detention until the end of proceedings .