An Israeli man was indicted on Thursday in connection to the violent assault of a Catholic nun in Jerusalem final month, after prosecutors stated he focused her over her Christian id.
Yona Schreiber, 36, from the West Financial institution settlement of Peduel, was arrested final week and has since been indicted on prices of “assault inflicting precise harm motivated by hostility towards the general public on the grounds of faith, in addition to easy assault,” the state legal professional’s workplace stated in an announcement.
In accordance with the indictment, Schreiber, who’s Jewish, attacked the nun simply exterior of the Previous Metropolis in Jerusalem as a result of he recognized her as a Catholic nun. Schreiber allegedly pushed after which kicked the nun as she was mendacity on the bottom and in addition attacked a passerby who tried to intervene.
The nun, a researcher on the French Faculty of Biblical and Archeological Analysis, suffered bruises on her face and leg as a result of assault, the state legal professional’s workplace stated.
The assault, which drew condemnation from Catholic leaders in addition to school on the Hebrew College of Jerusalem, comes amid mounting concern over hostility towards Christian clergy and holy websites in Israel.
Circumstances of Jews harassing Christians have risen sharply in recent times. Final month, the IDF punished a soldier who was filmed bludgeoning a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon. This week, the IDF additionally introduced that it will self-discipline a distinct soldier who was seen inserting a cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary in a photograph posted on social media.
Israel’s legal professional basic requested the Jerusalem Justice of the Peace’s Court docket, the place the indictment was filed, to carry Schreiber in detention in the course of the authorized continuing.
The assault carries a most jail sentence of three years, which might improve to 6 years if prosecutors show the assault was motivated by spiritual bias.
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