Individuals wearing masks attacked two Jewish students on Nov. 6 as they supported Israel outside the student center at DePaul University in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago.
The assailants punched Max Long in the face and body while pushing Michael Kaminsky to the ground, resulting in a concussion and a fractured wrist. Long, who has served in the Israel Defense Forces, was there with his friend encouraging dialogue about the Jewish state.
In a statement provided to JNS, the Chicago Jewish Alliance (CJA) described that before the incident “two students, one of whom is a proud IDF soldier, engaged in a thoughtful dialogue on campus, displaying a sign that read, ‘I’m an IDF soldier, ask me anything.’”
CJA said “what began as an earnest exchange of ideas took a violent turn when two masked assailants ambushed these students, subjecting them to a brutal attack before fleeing the scene.” A cell-phone video clip released by the group and broadcast on Fox News shows the violence.
Kaminsky called the attack “a horrendous crime, a horrendous assault” and that “it was clear it was because we were Jewish.” Long added that “we need to come together as a community and allies of our community and work together to make sure Jews feel safe.”
They intend to return to their activism, saying they are “resilient.”
The college released a statement from its president, Robert Manuel, addressing the violence. “I’m appalled to share that the attack targeted two Jewish students at DePaul who were visibly showing their support for Israel,” he said. “Masked attackers punched our students, who sustained physical injuries but declined medical treatment.”
Manuel called the assaults “completely unacceptable and a violation of DePaul’s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual.” He said the school “is actively working with the Chicago Police Department to investigate this incident so that they can determine whether to classify it as a hate crime that targeted our students because of their Jewish identity.”
Chicago police are investigating the incident as a hate crime and requesting help from the community to identify two suspects.
