Moment nun is pushed over and repeatedly kicked in Jerusalem
The woman was left with bruising to her face after the incident, which occured in broad daylight
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The shocking incident took place just outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City in Israel. Picture: Getty[2]By Georgia Bell
A nun was assaulted in Jerusalem, sparking increased concern over Israeli attacks against Christians. Loading audio...
The 48-year-old woman, a researcher at Jerusalem's French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research, was assaulted on Tuesday near David's Tomb, outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City.[3]
She was shoved to the ground, landing face-first onto a rock, where she was kicked repeatedly.
She suffered bruising to her face where she was struck and has received medical attention for her injuries.
Father Olivier Poquillon, director of the nun's Dominican-run institute, told AFP that she "felt someone come up behind her and throw her with full force onto a rock," and that "while the sister was on the ground, the man began to kick her repeatedly."
The unprovoked incident was condemned by both Father Poquillon and the French Consulate in Jerusalem and called for the attacker to be arrested, Middle East Eye reported.
Israeli police said they had arrested a 36-year-old suspect on Wednesday but did not identify them, the paper reported.
A spokesman said the police viewed with "utmost severity" any violent act "driven by potentially racist motives directed towards members of the clergy".
This comes after increasing concerns over incidents affecting Christian communities in Israel[6].
The desecration of a Christian site by an Israeli soldier has been met with condemnation from Israel's Prime Minister. Picture: Getty[7]Last month, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem[8], Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was blocked from performing Palm Sunday Mass at a church in Jerusalem.
Access was partially restored after the backlash that followed.
Another incident, which saw an Israeli soldier desecrating a statue of Jesus in a Christian neighbourhood of southern Lebanon, led to a rare condemnation of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The soldier concerned was later removed from combat and received a 30-day sentence.
The incident sparked criticism from the Vatican[9], Italy and France, and has been described by Church officials as setting a "serious and dangerous precedent".
References
- ^ Want LBC stories before everyone else?
Set us as your Preferred Source on Google
(www.google.com) - ^ Getty (www.gettyimages.co.uk)
- ^ Jerusalem's Old City. (www.lbc.co.uk)
- ^ House speaker Mike Johnson insists U.S. 'not at war' with Iran as deadline for Congress approval looms (www.lbc.co.uk)
- ^ Met chief defends 'extraordinary' Golders Green police response after criticism from Zack Polanski (www.lbc.co.uk)
- ^ Israel (www.lbc.co.uk)
- ^ Getty (www.gettyimages.co.uk)
- ^ Jerusalem (www.lbc.co.uk)
- ^ the Vatican (www.lbc.co.uk)