Man Caught on Video Running Up Behind Nun, Knocking Her Down in Jerusalem; Arrested

A nun was attacked by a man near King David's Tomb in Jerusalem, Israel, while walking along the street. Surveillance footage released by Israel Police captured the woman walking along the street when a man ran up behind her and pushed her to the ground.

After being pushed, the nun was knocked to the ground, hitting the pavement, smacking her head on a concrete tree planter.

The man who pushed her later returned to kick her multiple times while she remained on the ground.

In a statement posted on X, Israel Police said that an investigation was immediately launched following the attack, leading to the arrest of the unidentified man.

"The Israel Police treats any attack on members of the clergy and religious communities with the utmost seriousness and applies a policy of zero tolerance to all acts of violence. In a city sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, we remain committed to protecting all communities and ensuring those responsible for violence are held accountable," they added.

Police also released footage of the suspect’s arrest, showing a police officer handcuffing him while stating, "You are under arrest for suspected assault resulting in bodily harm," in Hebrew.

Meanwhile, Israel's Foreign Ministry in a separate X statement said:

"This shameful act stands in direct contradiction to the values of respect, coexistence, and religious freedom upon which Israel is founded and to which it remains deeply committed," The ministry said in a statement on X.

"Israel remains firmly committed to safeguarding freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all faiths, and to ensuring that Jerusalem remains a city where every community can live, pray, and practice its faith in safety and dignity," the ministry added.

The ministry further expressed sympathy to the victim, "who was pushed to the ground and physically attacked, and we convey our solidarity with the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, social media users reacted with outrage at the unidentified man and support for the nun.

"Absolutely disgusting. Why is it so difficult for them to behave like normal, decent human beings, and show some d--- respect for the rest of humanity. He deserves to rot in prison," one user stated.

"He needs to rot in jail disgusting, this is what our US $ taxes go to-supporting people who behave like this instead of our own. Hope she is ok. He better be prosecuted. No more tax $ for this! But we have crooked p**st*tu*es for politicians," another user remarked.

A fourth X user commented, "It’s incomprehensible, this immense hatred toward the world around them. Unfortunately, this type of aggression has, for some time now, become part of Jerusalem’s landscape. The Armenian community suffers greatly from it."

It follows an incident a month earlier in which two Israeli soldiers were removed from combat duty after a picture of them hitting a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in southern Lebanon went viral, The BBC reported.