IDF veteran recounts brutal assault at Chicago campus, vows to continue his activism
Max Long, whose weekly stand invites DePaul University students to talk with him about Israel, says attack left him with concussion, fellow activist with broken arm
An Israeli student on Thursday described being violently beaten at Chicago’s DePaul University while inviting conversation about the Israel Defense Forces last week, vowing that the incident would not deter him from his US campus activism.
Max Long, who immigrated to Israel in 2015 from Boston and served in the IDF, told Channel 12 news he wanted to continue to contribute to Israel after he started his degree at DePaul this year and decided to establish the stand, offering apple and honey and inviting people to “talk about the IDF and Israel” over the Rosh Hashanah holiday in October alongside another pro-Israel activist. The stand has since become a regular installment.
Long had deferred his university studies while he served two rounds of reserve duty in the ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas. He spoke from his home in Chicago, where he was recovering from a concussion and swelling in the face and neck. Michael Kaminsky, the activist from Students Supporting Israel, had his hand broken in the assault.
“Every Wednesday I would come for a few hours. Each time the university would look for a reason to keep me away; they said they wanted to stay neutral, and demanded that I remain outside the campus. Surprisingly, most of the conversations were with people that wanted to listen,” Long said.
During the conversations, he showed students videos of tunnels he found in Gaza. “It’s different when it’s not something you are just seeing on social media, when a person is actually standing in front of you,” he noted.
Long said that there was a usual crowd of people that would yell, “Baby murderer” and swear at him, but he would not respond aggressively and would always invite them to talk.
Cellphone video captured the attacks of two Jewish students at DePaul University. Officials say the students were showing their support for Israel in front of the student center when two masked suspects attacked them—punching and pushing them to the ground. @nbcchicago pic.twitter.com/otYNisuu1E
— Vi Nguyen (@ViNguyen) November 8, 2024
“I even shook hands with someone that told me they don’t agree with me, because we agreed we want peace and don’t want calls of death to all Jews,” he said.
But last week, a masked man approached their stand at the entrance to the campus and began to ask him questions, showing interest in his army service, he told Channel 12.
“Two minutes into the conversation and someone behind me just started punching. Both of them brought me to the ground and beat me. One of them took a drink can and smashed it over my head,” Long said.
Long said Kaminsky, from the group Students Supporting Israel, was also beaten.
“He was with me and tried to get me off the ground,” Long said, adding that as he wasn’t responding, Kaminsky believed he was dead. According to Long, none of the dozens of people around them, including security, came to their aid.
“There were those that said I got what I deserved,” Long said. “We recorded one of them saying that I got what I deserved because I am a ‘baby killer’ and I should be ashamed of myself. It only reminded me why I am doing what I am doing.”
Kaminsky, who also joined the conversation, said the experience had been traumatic, and that the attackers had tried to intimidate them into silence.
“They want to make us afraid, and they say it. It’s important that people know that it’s okay to speak their truth. There is nothing to fear. We should be united as the Jewish community and stand together. We should all unite and bring an end to the war and the elimination of Hamas,” he said.
Detectives were investigating but no arrests have been made, and there was no mention of a hate crime in a brief press statement issued by police last week. Long said one of his attackers participated in anti-Israel protests on campus and had threatened Jewish students in the past.
Violence against Jewish Americans has surged to record levels across the country in the 13 months since the terror group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 on October 7, 2023, starting the war in Gaza. There have also been several attacks on Palestinian Americans.
The Chicago Commission on Human Relations reported 50 anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city in the first half of 2024, equal to the number in all of 2023, while finding the number of attacks against Muslims and Arabs was down.
The city was rocked by the October 26 shooting of a 39-year-old Jewish man wearing a skullcap as he walked to synagogue. Police have charged a 22-year-old suspect with terrorism, a hate crime, and attempted murder in what they said was an unprovoked attack.
