The two Jewish students who were assaulted on the campus of DePaul University in Chicago last week spoke out publicly for the first time on Saturday, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.
Max Long and Michael Kaminsky were attacked from behind on Wednesday by assailants wearing masks. The pair had been visibly showing their support for Israel in front of the school's Student Center when they were attacked.
"Trying to cope with everything that happened, pretty traumatic experience," Kaminsky said. "I didn't believe something like this could happen."
"I never thought that me continuing to do my activist work would've put a target on my back and cause somebody to want to go out there and target me and Max for our Jewish religion, our national origin, our ethnicity our identity," he added.
Long, who served as a reservist in the IDF during the war in Gaza, said, "I was in Israel on October 7. I was called up with my team."
"I witnessed firsthand the things that I was hearing people say over here that were fake and were not true," he added. "And so it became this mission of, 'I need to make sure that the truth is told.'"
Long suffered a concussion while Kaminsky's wrist was broken in the attack. Both were released from the hospital on Saturday, three days after the assault.
Long stated that the vast majority of students responded well to his attempt to present the Israeli side of the story until the two masked attackers jumped him from behind and began to repeatedly punch him.
"It was, it was quite a beating while I was on the ground," he said. "It was lights out. I got attacked from behind from a defenseless position."
Long declared that the attack would not deter him from continuing to speak out for Israel. "I'm sure that was the intent behind the attack. We've been there every week, they probably want that to stop, and we cannot allow that."
Kaminsky agreed. "Yeah, they may have tried to physically attack us, they may have hurt us, but our spirits aren't broken. If we don't have conversations, then nothing gets resolved."
DePaul University president Robert L. Manuel condemned Wednesday's assault, stating, “I’m appalled to share that the attack targeted two Jewish students at DePaul who were visibly showing their support for Israel."
“We are outraged that this occurred on our campus. It is completely unacceptable and a violation of DePaul’s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual," he added. “We will do all we can to hold those responsible accountable for this outrageous incident."
"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," Manuel wrote. "Our shared expectations and guiding principles make it clear that DePaul will not tolerate any acts of hatred or violence."