Russian nun deported after accusing Israel of Oct. 7 conspiracy

Israel authorized the October 7th attacks in order to “distract” the Israeli public from Netanyahu’s criminal trial, the nun charged.

By World Israel News Staff

A Russian-born nun who claimed that the Israeli government was behind the October 7th massacres was deported from Israel recently, according to a statement from Israel’s Immigration and Population Authority.

Shortly after the terror onslaught, Yuli Mativeva told a Russian-language TV news channel that Hamas had coordinated the terror attacks in advance with the Israeli government.

Israel authorized the October 7th attacks in order to “distract” the Israeli public from the “criminal charges” pending against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she alleged.

Mativeva also falsely claimed that the U.S. supplied Hamas with the rockets it used to target Tel Aviv and Jerusalem at the onset of the war.

Hamas did not possess long-range rockets in its arsenal on October 7th, Mativeva charged, according to a translation of her interview by Ynet.

Therefore, Mativeva argued, the terror group could have only carried out launches against cities in the center of Israel with American material support.

Yet despite her serious accusations against the Jewish state, Mativeva engaged in a long-running legal saga to avoid being deported from the country.

Mativeva has lived in Israel since 1993, having been granted a special long-term visa for clergy. At the time of the interview, she was the head nun at a Greek Orthodox church in Jerusalem.

Following the broadcast of her interview, Mativeva’s visa was revoked.

Officials from the Immigration and Population Authority summoned Mativeva for a meeting, informing her that she must leave the country. She appealed the visa revocation in court, delaying the deportation process by several months.

Eventually, a judge confirmed the Immigration and Population Authority’s decision that Mativeva could no longer live in Israel.

However, shortly before the date of her deportation in July 2024, Mativeva disappeared.

In February 2025, after some six months on the run, police discovered Mativeva living in Even Sapir, a small agricultural community near Jerusalem. She was arrested and detained at an immigration detention facility.

From there, Mativeva attempted to claim refugee status in Israel. In her asylum request, she said that being returned to her native Russia would endanger her life.

Her request was denied, and she was finally deported, the Immigration and Population Authority said in a media statement.