An Israeli court has acquitted a 36-year-old Jewish man who attacked a French nun in Jerusalem’s Old City, after ruling that he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the incident.
Yona Schreiber was caught on CCTV pushing the nun to the ground and kicking her in April. She suffered injuries to her face and leg after hitting her head on a stone block.
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court ruled that Schreiber was not criminally responsible because of his mental state and ordered that he be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years.
Schreiber had been charged with assault motivated by hostility toward a religious group. The prosecution accepted a psychiatrist’s assessment that he was experiencing psychosis when the attack occurred and supported his acquittal and hospitalization.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation and renewed concerns over harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem’s Old City.
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The French Consulate in Jerusalem condemned the attack, while Israel’s Foreign Ministry described it as a “shameful act” and reaffirmed its commitment to religious freedom.
