Max Long, whose weekly stand invites DePaul University students to talk with him about Israel, says attack left him with concussion, fellow
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.
“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.
