Court Acquits Israeli Man in Assault on Catholic Nun, Citing Mental Illness
A Jerusalem court acquitted Yona Simcha Schreiber, 36, in the assault of a Catholic nun, citing his psychosis and ordering hospitalization.
Jerusalem, 27 August, 2026 (TPS-IL) — the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday acquitted Yona Simcha Schreiber, 36, over his attack on a Catholic nun near King David’s Tomb, citing mental illness. The court ordered him to be hospitalized for up to six years.
Schreiber was charged with assault causing bodily harm motivated by hostility toward a religious group. On April 28, he pushed the nun to the ground, returned and kicked her, then attacked a passerby who tried to intervene.
The 48-year-old nun works at the French School of Biblical and Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, a Dominican academic institution.
Judge Ophir Tischler accepted a psychiatrist’s conclusion that Schreiber was psychotic at the time and could not understand his actions or control them, and could not be held criminally responsible for the attack.