Jewish students sue DePaul University over campus attack

CHICAGO — Two Jewish students at DePaul’s Lincoln Park Campus who were attacked last November are suing the university, saying it failed to protect them.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday morning, is asking for both physical and emotional damages to be awarded to the students.

Last November, Max Long, a first-year DePaul student and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist, says he was speaking his truth about antisemitism when two masked men, who were captured on camera, knocked him to the ground and beat him —causing a concusion.

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Micheal Kaminsky stepped in to help and was also injured. He needed surgery on his wrist.

The men say a DePaul security officer did nothing to help.

“The lawsuit seeks to hold DePaul accountable for it’s failure to protect it’s Jewish students,” said Jaclyn Clark, Lawfair Project Attorney.

Both Jewish men say they reported antisemitism directed at them, and other Jewish students, to the university prior to the attack.

“DePaul has failed me, not just as a student, but as a human being. Universities are supposed to be places of information, safety and dialog. But instead, they become platforms for fear, mob rule and censorship,” said Long.

They say they continue to be threatened and the target of antisemitic slurs.

“Yet the university continues to persist there is nothing they can do,” Kaminsky said.

Attorneys for the pair hope this lawsuit changes that, and forces more protection for Jewish students on college campuses across the country.

“We also hope this case will serve as a cautionary tale for colleges and universities across the country. You must take swift and decisive action now to protect your Jewish students,” said Attorney Clark.

Chicago police are still searching for the suspects involved in the attack. WGN News has reached out to Depaul University for a response to the lawsuit, but have not yet heard back.