{"id":424164,"date":"2026-05-04T03:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T03:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/424164\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T03:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T03:14:22","slug":"jerusalem-christians-not-surprised-by-attack-on-nun-as-abuse-becomes-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/424164\/","title":{"rendered":"Jerusalem Christians not surprised by attack on nun as abuse becomes routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Footage of an attack on a Catholic nun in Jerusalem<\/a> shocked the world when it went viral last week, but for worshipers attending Sunday mass at Saint Stephen\u2019s Basilica, it was just the latest example of mounting religious hostility.<\/p>\n

The attack on Tuesday was captured by CCTV and shared widely, showing a Jewish extremist shoving the nun to the ground and leaving, before returning to resume his attack on her, at which point by-passers intervened.<\/p>\n

As the congregation poured out of the Sunday service, the story was still on everyone\u2019s lips, as many offered words and tokens of support for the French nun, who was not in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe still has pains,\u201d but she is \u201csurrounded by support,\u201d said the priest who led the service, Olivier Catel.<\/p>\n

When Catel arrived in Jerusalem over a decade ago, such incidents were rare. Roughly once a year, he said, \u201cwhen I went out in my habit, people \u2014 usually ultra-Orthodox Jews \u2014 would spit behind our back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe never paid attention because they were isolated incidents,\u201d he said. But for the past three or four years, it has become something of a daily occurrence.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tBruising on the face of a nun following an assault in Jerusalem, April 29, 2026. (Israel Police)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we go out, people spit next to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rossing Center, a Jerusalem-based association for interreligious dialogue, has documented \u201cgrowing harassment\u201d of Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem, according to a study released in March.<\/p>\n

Throughout 2025, it recorded 61 physical attacks, including spitting, the use of pepper spray, and blows. It also recorded 28 cases of verbal harassment and 52 cases of defacement of church property.<\/p>\n

A British priest who preferred to remain anonymous confirmed that such incidents occurred daily.<\/p>\n

He never went out without his black robes and was invariably met with spitting or shouts of \u201cGo home!\u201d in his direction.<\/p>\n

\u2018He should be killed\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone said this would happen someday,\u201d said Pierre, a 30-year-old parishioner, who was \u201cnot surprised\u201d by the incident and in fact expected things to escalate to a possible death if there were no intervention.<\/p>\n

The day of the attack on the nun, a priest he knew was in the supermarket when a man stopped before him.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tOrthodox Christian pilgrims hold up candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the Old City of Jerusalem, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ohad Zwigenberg)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told his son, in Hebrew, \u2018He should be killed,’\u201d said Pierre.\u00a0\u201cIf nothing is done\u2026 someone will take that step.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attack occurred a few steps away from the Old City of Jerusalem, the flashpoint of tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the foot of the Church of the Dormition.<\/p>\n

A young Israeli who said he witnessed the incident from a distance described the attacker as \u201ca madman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israeli media had described the assailant as a far-right activist with a history of mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very shocking,\u201d said Uriel Levisohn, a 28-year-old rabbi, who expressed disbelief at how commonplace such incidents have become.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith God\u2019s help, this will be the last time something like this happens here.\u201d<\/p>\n

But worshipers leaving the mass were less hopeful, saying they were waiting for a firm response from the Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n

They pointed to increasingly \u201csupremacist\u201d rhetoric in the country, including among senior officials.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tAn IDF soldier smashes a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, in an image uploaded to social media on April 19, 2026. (X\/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)<\/p>\n

They recalled recent incidents in southern Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Hezbollah terror group, and where an Israeli soldier was filmed destroying a statue of Jesus.<\/p>\n

Catel nonetheless said he refused to \u201clive in fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI continue to go to the Old City in my robes,\u201d he said, adding that while he avoided certain neighborhoods, \u201coverall, I haven\u2019t changed my habits.\u201d<\/p>\n


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