A Jerusalem court has acquitted a Jewish man who attacked a nun in an incident captured on CCTV, citing mental health grounds. The court ruled that Yona Schreiber was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the assault and is not criminally responsible for his actions.
Schreiber was ordered to be sent to a psychiatric hospital for up to six years. The 36-year-old had been charged with assault motivated by hostility towards a religious group. A district psychiatrist's report stated Schreiber was in a psychotic state and not fit to stand trial, an opinion accepted by the prosecution.
The attack occurred in the Old City of East Jerusalem in April. Video footage of the incident drew widespread condemnation and heightened concerns about a rise in harassment of Christian clergy and pilgrims by Jewish extremists in the Old City. The victim, a nun and researcher at the French Biblical and Archaeological School, suffered a bruised face and leg after hitting her head on a stone block. The French Consulate in Jerusalem strongly condemned the aggression at the time, with the director of the school calling it an "act of sectarian violence."