Two Jewish students of DePaul University are demanding action after they were attacked in an antisemitic hate crime, NBC Chicago’s Vi Nguyen reports.
More than two dozen people gathered on the campus of DePaul University for a rally early Thursday evening to show their support for two Jewish students, who were targeted in an antisemitic attack in front of the student center two weeks ago.
Max Long and Michael Kaminsky, along with Jewish community groups and organizations, are calling on the university to do more to ensure safety for Jewish students on campus.
“We’re sending a message to these institutions to do more to protect all of your students and stop turning a blind eye to injustices happening all over your campus,” said Long.
Long and Kaminsky told NBC Chicago they were assaulted while engaging in conversation about Israel earlier this month. Cellphone video captured the attack in front of the Student Center in Lincoln Park.
“Despite the viciousness of this crime I say this attack will not scare us,” said Kaminsky. “We the Jewish people survived slavery in Egypt, we survive the holocaust, and we will survive this modern-day assault against us.”
Long said one of the suspects was engaging with them when out of nowhere he was ambushed from behind. Kaminsky tried to help his friend. He too was attacked. Chicago police are still looking for the two masked men.
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“Days after the attack while we were recovering from our injuries, students on this campus in this very spot distributed wanted flyers with my picture and name on them,” said Long. “If you need any more conclusive evidence look no further.”
The Chicago Jewish Alliance along with several other organizations are responding to the attack. The alliance submitted a letter to the university asking them to take actionable measures to prevent this from happening again.
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“Please wake up, please pressure your institutions to change, please do something about it,” said Josh Weiner, Chicago Jewish Alliance co-founder.
“These two culprits who attacked Max and Michael they weren’t wearing a mask for health or religious reasons. They were doing this intentionally to avoid detection so that way they can get away with it,” added Adar Rubin, who is the Director of Mobilization for the #EndJewHatred Movement.
Since the attack, university leaders condemned the attack, increased safety patrols on campus, and offered their support to students. DePaul said its committed to building a culture of dialogue and understanding.
The president of the university told NBC Chicago in a statement: “We will continue to do everything possible to ensure DePaul is a safe and welcoming space for every member of our diverse university community. We recognize that for a significant portion of our Jewish community, Israel is a core part of their Jewish identity. Those students – and every student - should feel safe on our university campus.”’
