Two Jewish students attacked at DePaul University are speaking out against hate after being targeted by two masked men on campus in Lincoln Park.
Days after being attacked, Max Long and Michael Kaminsky are sharing their stories, saying they won’t be silenced.
“It was a horrendous crime, a horrendous assault, it was clear it was because we were Jewish,” said Kaminsky. “We were showing our Israeli pride and we were holding up the sign encouraging people to come up and talk to us about the IDF, about Israel.”
The effort for dialogue comes amid the continuation of the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.
The two students have been recovering since late Wednesday afternoon dealing with injuries, including a concussion and a fractured wrist and the trauma of the attack in front of the university's Student Center.
“He shook my hand, we have that on video, and then out of nowhere I just form a defenseless position,” Long said. “We were attacked from behind by a second masked attacker and that was the last thing I remembered until I got up.”
The attack was captured on cell phone video. Long can be heard talking to the masked suspect before being jumped from behind by another. Kaminsky was standing right next to his friend, tried to step in and help and said he too was assaulted.
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“He grabs me and pushes me to the ground then he tried to take a swing at me while I’m on the ground,” Kaminsky said. “After a certain period of time, I get up, both of the individuals look at me and they run away.”
“I had people coming up to me saying to both of us saying you got what you deserved,” said Long. “I’m kinda trying to shake it off, trying to figure out what just happened.”
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Chicago police launched a battery and hate crime investigation and released surveillance images of the two suspects, who they’re still looking for. The two men are believed to be in their twenties, according to police.
“They may have physically hurt me, but my spirit is not broken,” Kaminsky said. “Max and I’s spirits aren’t broken—in fact we’re resilient, we’re not the victims.”
For the past several weeks, the two Jewish students have been engaging in dialogue and conversation with other students on campus and plan to return next week.
“As someone who served in Israel in the reserves, it’s important for me after realizing there’s another front to this war and it’s over here, and it’s informational war and making sure that the truth is told and that the stories, that our stories are told,” Long said.
The students are calling for an end to the violence in wake of an increase of hate crimes towards Chicago's Jewish community, as well as attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam this week.
“Our hope is that people can look at us, yes, we might disagree with you, but we’re not going to go out there and do antisemitic incidents,” Kaminsky said.
“We need to come together as a community and allies of our community and work together to make sure Jews feel safe,” Long said.
Long and Kaminsky are calling on the university to release the surveillance video of the attack. Anyone with information regarding the suspects of the attack is asked to call police.
