A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court has acquitted Yona Schreiber, a 36-year-old Jewish man from a West Bank settlement, of assaulting a Catholic nun in Jerusalem’s Old City after ruling he was not criminally responsible due to a psychotic episode at the time of the attack. The court ordered Schreiber to be committed to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years, though the prosecution had previously accepted the district psychiatrist’s assessment that he was unfit to stand trial.
The assault occurred in April outside the Cenacle on Mount Zion, a site revered by both Christians and Jews. Video footage showed Schreiber shoving the 48-year-old nun, causing her to fall and hit her head on a stone block. He then returned and repeatedly kicked her, leaving her with bruising to her face and leg. The victim, a researcher at the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem, suffered no life-threatening injuries but required psychological recovery.
Court ruling and legal reasoning
The judge, Ofir Tishler, acknowledged that Schreiber had committed the acts he was charged with but granted the acquittal based on the psychiatric evaluation. The prosecution concurred with the district psychiatrist’s report, which stated Schreiber was "in a psychotic state at the time of the act and is not substantively fit to stand trial." The court’s decision followed a magistrate-level trial in Jerusalem, where the charge of assault motivated by hostility toward a religious group was dismissed.
Reactions from religious and diplomatic communities
The French Consulate in Jerusalem condemned the attack as "aggression," while the director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School, Friar Olivier Poquillon, described it as an "act of sectarian violence" and expressed regret that no criminal penalty was imposed. Israel’s foreign ministry denounced the assault as a "shameful act" that contradicted the country’s commitment to religious freedom and coexistence.
Broader context of religious tensions
The incident has drawn attention amid reports of increased harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims in Jerusalem’s Old City. Clergy and advocates note that while daily interactions among faith communities are mostly peaceful, verbal abuse and spitting have become more frequent in recent years. The nun’s assault was described by some observers as a rare escalation in the ongoing tensions, particularly during a period of heightened regional conflict.
Schreiber remains hospitalized under court order, with no indication of when or if he may be released. The case has prompted discussions about the balance between mental health treatment and accountability in cases where perpetrators are deemed unfit to stand trial.