Kasem Noubani’s 300-day jail sentence and two years of probation for attacking two Jewish students at DePaul University are a “tough pill to swallow” for Max Long, one of the victims.
On Aug. 4, Noubani pleaded guilty to two Class 3 felony hate crime charges, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“In the grand scheme of things, there are so many cases that don’t even get that far,” Long told JNS. “I am trying to always be somewhat positive and try to close this chapter of not having to go back to that courthouse, hopefully ever.”
“But it’s a tough pill to swallow, the idea that after spending two years going back and forth to court—I’ve been serving in reserves in Israel, but still, this has been bringing me back constantly to having to deal with this. For it to end with a 300-day sentence, it’s just, I don’t know,” he said.
The attack occurred on Nov. 6, 2024, outside DePaul’s Student Center on the university’s Lincoln Park campus in Chicago. Beginning around Rosh Hashanah that year, Long had stood near the Monsignor John Egan statue each week with a sign reading, “Come talk about Israel with an IDF soldier.” Long served in the Israel Defense Forces for three years and remains an IDF reservist.
On the day of the attack, a man wearing a ski mask, later identified as Adam Erkan, approached Long and his friend Michael Kaminsky, the other victim. According to Long, Erkan asked about his military service, shook his hand and spoke with him for about five minutes.
The conversation became contentious when they began discussing terrorist groups in Gaza. Long mentioned Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Erkan told him not to call it “Islamic Jihad,” saying that it was “Islam,” Long said.
At that point, Long’s memory goes blank. According to surveillance footage, another man, identified as Noubani, approached him from behind and struck him in the head.
“I guess I hit the ground,” Long told JNS. “When he was on top of me, Erkan, who initially had just been trying to distract me, he was like boxing out, so no one could reach me.”
Kaminsky then ran over to help Long, and Erkan threw him to the ground, Long said. Kaminsky suffered a fractured wrist and has undergone two surgeries, according to Long.
Long suffered a “very serious concussion” and said that eight months after the attack, he was still experiencing symptoms.
“It’s just a slow process,” he told JNS. “I can’t lift over my head. It’s that bad.”
Long also said a DePaul public safety officer was standing nearby when the attack occurred. Long and Kaminsky have sued the university, alleging that it failed to protect them. The lawsuit remains pending.
The attack’s aftermath
Shortly after the attack, one student told Long that he deserved to be assaulted for “killing babies in Gaza,” according to Long. He also said there was a campus sit-in calling for his expulsion.
“Wanted” posters targeting Long also circulated on social media, accusing him of being a “reservist in the fascist criminal Israeli army” and a “participant in the genocide in Gaza,” he said.
An anti-Israel group called Behind Enemy Lines, which Long said Noubani is involved with and believes Erkan is as well, also set up a stand near the site of the attack and distributed flyers calling Long an “IOF butcher” and saying he should face a “Nuremberg-style trial,” according to Long. The flyer, which Long shared with JNS, also called for Erkan’s release.
DePaul subsequently banned Behind Enemy Lines from campus, according to the Anti-Defamation League and local reporting.
Erkan’s sentence was reduced as part of a plea agreement in which he agreed to cooperate against Noubani, who Long called the “main instigator.” Erkan originally faced felony hate crime and aggravated battery charges but pleaded guilty in November 2025 to two misdemeanor battery charges. He was sentenced to two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
During the court proceedings, prosecutors presented evidence that Erkan and Noubani had met at an anti-Israel rally months before the attack. Long said the two had been planning the assault “for some time.” Their text messages referred to Long and Kaminsky as “Jewish guys,” he said.
“The goal there was to silence us,” he told JNS.
Long said Erkan’s friends would stare at him in court and swear at him in Arabic. One allegedly told him, “Just because you’re in the U.S., don’t think you’re safe.”
“It was really important to us to be there in person, to show that we’re not afraid,” Long said, adding that he and Kaminsky needed escorts whenever they went to court.
Long described the past two years as “the hardest two years of my life, and I’ve been through war on multiple occasions now.”
He said he has been unable to return to campus full-time to continue his education, although he has taken some in-person classes. He feels like he is “constantly looking over my shoulder.”
Long remains a part-time DePaul student studying business but is currently taking a semester off.
“I wish I could just be a student,” Long told JNS.
