Making her way through Jerusalem’s Old City on a recent spring day, L, an Arab nun, recounted the incidents of harassment she has faced as a Christian on the streets of the world’s holiest city.
“It has happened several times. They said bad things in Hebrew and spat at me,” L, who asked to use only the first letter of her name out of fear, told The Jerusalem Report. “This is racism, and we really feel we are under threat.”
L said her attackers spoke Hebrew, and she described them as “radical religious Jews.”
“The situation has become worse,” said L, who grew up in the Galilee region and wears a nun’s habit and a cross, which leaves little doubt about her religious identity.
Increasing attacks
L is not alone in feeling that the intensity of attacks against the city’s Christian community is increasing. Over the past few weeks, the Israel Police released a chilling video of a nun being chased down the street by a man, who pushed her to the ground and began kicking her violently. Another video showed a Jewish man standing at the entrance to a church in the Old City’s Armenian Quarter, spitting and committing provocations.
While the police later arrested and charged a 36-year-old assailant from the West Bank settlement of Peduel for assaulting the nun, members of the Christian community say concerns over their safety are skyrocketing. They feel little is being done to restore calm.
“The feeling is that you have to be more cautious and vigilant now, and to pay more attention,” stated L, who says she is not concerned for her own safety and refuses to hide her religious identity.
“I reject concealing my cross,” she said. “This is who I am, and I am not willing in any case to hide my belief. This country is my home, and I have the right to be here like anyone else.”
At a nearby coffee shop, owner Yussef concurred with L, noting that the community was feeling more insecure than ever.
“We’re not happy with what’s happening,” he told the Report. “Spitting used to happen every once in a while, but now it’s turned into something normal, and no one is being punished for it. There should be a law to prevent these things and hold people accountable. Assaults need to stop.”
Climate of intimidation
According to the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, a Jerusalem-based inter-religious organization, there were a total of 155 violent incidents against Christians in Israel in 2025. Physical attacks were the most prevalent, with 61 cases recorded; 52 were incidents against church properties, and the remaining cases involved harassment and the defacement of public Christian signs.
The center reported that the majority of physical attacks targeted clergy – monks, nuns, friars, and priests – who are easily identifiable in public due to their distinctive dress and visible Christian symbols.
“Spitting continued to be the most common expression of hostility, and what was once often carried out covertly is now frequently performed openly,” the report stated.
“We also should look at the bigger picture,” Hana Bendcowsky, Program Director at the Rossing Center told the Report. “This violent behavior reflects the growing violence in our society.”
While the increase in violence, there were some 111 cases 2024, is still a relatively limited phenomenon, Bendcowsky said, she noted that the damage is significant.
“Jews from abroad are also ultimately affected by incidents like these that occur here,” she said.
“This is far from humanity,” said Naji Mansour, who owns a currency exchange business in the Old City. “It is very disturbing to even hear that such things take place. We were taught to love each other, not to hate. Christians are a peaceful community. The people who commit these acts are causing hatred.”
Mansour was born in Jerusalem; his family is originally from the predominantly Christian village of Taybeh in the West Bank. He said that violence has also increased there.
“I have land there, and each time we try to repair it, settlers come and threaten us with attacks,” he said. “We cannot do anything about it; it’s beyond our capacity.”
The Rossing Center noted that incidents of continued intimidation and aggression should be seen through the wider lens of the regional and socio-political upheaval that has shaped daily life across Israel.
“In a year marked by ongoing war, escalating regional confrontation, and deepening political polarization, Christians are increasingly affected not only as a religious minority but, in the case of Palestinians, also because of their national identity,” the center’s report highlighted.
This has also played out beyond Jerusalem. An image of an IDF soldier putting a lit cigarette into the mouth of a statue of the Virgin Mary emerged recently. This followed a video of a soldier smashing a statue of Jesus in Lebanon, which drew condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an investigation by the IDF.
“We now live in a very tense time with a lot of pain emotionally. This suffering applies to all sections and communities,” said George Sandrouni, owner of the Armenian Ceramic Center in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.
“The storm must calm down. The solution is for people to learn to live with respect for each other,” he said.
Zero tolerance
Wadie Abu Nassar, coordinator of the Forum of Holy Land Christians, told the Report that it’s not only about numbers. The main concern, he said, is that from sporadic incidents, the assaults appear to have turned into a pattern that creates a climate of intolerance.
“In every society, there are bullies and criminals who act as if they are above the law. Offensive incidents have always existed, but they were isolated events. Now, every few days you hear of a new assault,” he said.
“The problem is not with the assailants but with the state authorities,” Abu Nassar stated. “The state either turns a blind eye or tacitly encourages this phenomenon by not acting with an iron fist against the criminals.”
Abu Nassar, a Christian from Haifa, said condemnations are not enough. For these assaults to stop, clear orders and a firm policy of “zero tolerance” are required by the prime minister, the government, and the country’s enforcement institutions.
“Even though, in some cases, suspects are arrested, it does not always lead to indictments and trials. Others who are involved in fueling incitement are not even summoned for questioning. That makes them think that they are allowed to do whatever they want,” he said.
“There is also the educational aspect – how some people are raised and educated in their families and schools, and what they hear in their surroundings,” he continued. “If nobody tells them this is wrong, or if they grow up in an environment that fuels hatred toward people of other groups, then this is a problem, and it could be dangerous.
“A Jewish extremist who attacks a Christian might also end up attacking a Jew,” he posited.■