Outcry over assault on nun in Jerusalem

A person has been arrested in reference to a violent assault on a French nun in East Jerusalem. 

Footage of the assault shared online shows a person forcefully shove the nun to the bottom from behind. As she lies on the bottom visibly hurt from the autumn, he appears to kick her before a passerby rushes to her aid and fights him off. 

The vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem, Bishop William Shomali, called the attack on the nun “extremely serious and despicable,” Anadolu reports.

“The attacker returning to kick her after she was already injured makes the crime much more severe. This is a despicable act,” he added. 

Israel’s former ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon, called it an act of “Jewish terrorism”.

The French Consulate in Jerusalem said that France “strongly condemns the attack against a French nun”.

It added: “We are closely monitoring her health condition and call for the perpetrator to be dropped at justice.”

A 36-year-old Israeli man has been arrested in reference to the assault.

Israeli police released a picture of the nun showing injuries to her face and issued a press release saying they “view all types of violence with seriousness, particularly attacks motivated by racism targeting clergy”, Anadolu reports.