One would never know it by the collective silence of legacy media reports in the United States, but a French nun was brutally attacked in Jerusalem earlier this week.
The attack, and subsequent U.S. legacy media silence, comes as attacks against Christians have become more frequent, yet go largely unreported, especially compared to reports of violence against people of other faiths. It’s a sad reflection of the contemporary reality of the violence against Christians, who, according to the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva, are the most persecuted religious group in the world.
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Yet, despite this prevalence of anti-Christian bigotry and hate, one would be hard-pressed to find regular reports of attacks against Christians. Furthermore, the attack on the nun comes the same week as reports revealed that the Biden administration targeted and discriminated against Christian groups in the U.S.
Consider the words of H.E. Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the aforementioned permanent observer of the Vatican to the U.N. He cited the numerous acts of violence against Christians, writing that “one in seven Christians is affected.” In 2025, he said that “5,000 Christians were killed for their faith,” which averaged to about 13 per day. Why isn’t this being widely reported in the U.S.?
Moreover, if not for President Donald Trump and his cultural outreach to include entertainer Nicki Minaj regarding Christians massacred in Nigeria, would most people ever have even heard about any of the violence against Christians?
Even with awareness-raising about this situation by Trump and Minaj, it still goes underreported. Christians are arguably the only religious group in the world that are regularly persecuted yet do not receive adequate attention or recognition of these plights. One of the only organizations that I can recall that regularly reports the suffering, bigotry, hatred, and violence against Christians is “For the Martyrs.” Compare this to the number of other organizations for other religious groups who are victimized.
Regarding the incident in Jerusalem, the nun was attacked on Tuesday. It is Friday morning. Have you seen any reports about the attack on U.S. networks or publications? It raises the question: Why not?
As for the victim, the nun who was attacked works as a researcher at the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem. To make matters worse — if possible — the nun was reportedly attacked near one of the holiest sites in Christianity, outside the Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper, according to the school’s director, Dominican Father Olivier Poquillon.
Israeli Police released video of the brutal attack, showing the assailant running up to the nun and forcefully shoving her from behind as she falls to the ground, hitting her head on the concrete ground. The attacker then briefly walks away and returns to violently kick the nun before being confronted by a nearby pedestrian. The attacker was arrested on Wednesday. Israeli Police posted a video of the arrest and condemned the assault.
“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,” they said. “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.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry Office also condemned the attack, issuing a statement expressing sympathy to the nun and announcing its solidarity with the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem.
“The State of Israel views yesterday’s attack against a nun in Jerusalem with the utmost seriousness. Immediately following the incident, the Israel Police opened an investigation, and the suspect was arrested last night,” read the statement. “He remains in custody, underscoring Israel’s firm policy against violence and its determination to bring offenders to justice swiftly.”
“We strongly condemn this despicable attack,” noted Israel’s Foreign Ministry. “Violence against innocent individuals, and especially against members of religious communities, has no place in our society. 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.”
Jerusalem’s Hebrew University’s Faculty of Comparative Religion posted about the crime on its social media account while emphasizing it is part of a dangerous trend of a “disturbing rise in Christianophobia.”
In labeling the attack a “heinous and utterly disgusting hate crime,” the institution said such incidents were “part of a deeply disturbing rise in Christianophobia that is becoming alarmingly prevalent in the Old City of Jerusalem and in many other places across Israel.”
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“We call on the police and the courts to bring the aggressor to justice, and upon Israel and Jerusalem’s leadership, at all levels, to take concrete actions, in legislation, education, and enforcement, to squelch this dangerous trend that threatens us all,” read the post.
Raise your hands if this is the first time, or one of the first times, you have ever read the word “Christianophobia” or ever heard about attacks against Christians in Israel. The lack of awareness of such events — throughout the world, not just Jerusalem or Israel — is the problem. Let it stop beginning today.
Christian lives matter. Their plights, the attacks against them, and the hatred, vilification, and discrimination they endure are just as unjust and shameful as any other religious group.