Jewish man who repeatedly kicked a nun in Jerusalem attack is acquitted on mental health grounds and will spend six years in psychiatric hospital
A Jewish man has been acquitted of attacking a Catholic nun in Jerusalem after a court accepted an insanity defence, while ordering him to spend up to six years in a psychiatric hospital. The April assault, in which the nun was pushed to the ground and repeatedly kicked, heightened concern among Christian communities about harassment in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court found there was evidence that the unnamed man, from a West Bank settlement, carried out the attack but was psychotic at the time. The 48-year-old nun suffered severe bruising after the incident outside the Cenacle on Mount Zion; her institution’s director welcomed the hospital order but regretted the absence of a criminal penalty. A religious-freedom monitoring group says incidents targeting Christians in Jerusalem have nearly tripled over four years, reaching roughly one a day in its latest three-month period.
- Attacker acquitted due to psychosis, but faces up to six years’ psychiatric detention.
- Catholic nun was seriously bruised in Jerusalem’s Old City.
- Christian harassment reports in Jerusalem have risen sharply.
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Jerusalem is an important city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and its Old City contains sites sacred to all three faiths. Mount Zion, just outside the Old City walls, is home to the Cenacle, a site revered by Christians.
Christian communities in Jerusalem include churches, religious institutions and long-established residents. Some have raised concerns about harassment and attacks on Christians and their property; monitoring groups track these incidents, though their figures depend on what they count and how they collect reports.
In Israel, courts can find a person not criminally responsible for an offence if a serious mental illness meant they could not understand or control their actions. Such a finding can lead to treatment in a psychiatric hospital, with the period set by the court.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
An insanity acquittal recognises that criminal punishment may be unjust when a person’s psychosis deprived him of the capacity required for legal responsibility. A psychiatric hospital order can address his illness and protect the public, while providing treatment rather than punishment alone.
The case against
The attack caused serious harm, and an acquittal may feel inadequate to the victim and Christian communities concerned about repeated harassment. They may argue that the outcome fails to express sufficient accountability or deterrence, even while accepting that the man needs psychiatric care.
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