The Lawfare Project Files Lawsuit Against DePaul University
The Lawfare Project, together with its co-counsel Grant & Eisenhofer P.A, announced today they have filed a lawsuit against DePaul University on behalf of their clients, Jewish students Max Long and Michael Kaminsky. The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL, seeks to hold DePaul accountable for its failure to protect its Jewish students,which culminated in a violent hate crime attack against Max and Michael last November by perpetrators who remain at large.
Max, an IDF reservist and the founder of nonprofit Growing Wings, Inc., was leading discussions on campus about the IDF’s efforts to defend Israel after Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. He was approached by masked assailants and beaten to the point he suffered a concussion. When Michael stepped in to help Max during the attack, DePaul public safety officers stood idly by and watched the assault unfold. Michael sustained an injury to his wrist that required surgery.
“DePaul University failed Max and Michael, and continues to fail its Jewish students,” said Brooke Goldstein, Founder and Executive Director of The Lawfare Project. “DePaul failed to fulfill its legal obligations to protect not just the civil rights of its Jewish students, but their basic safety. What we see happening at DePaul, and on campuses across America, is not mere speech protected by the First Amendment; we see illegal conduct, including acts of violence, intimidation, harassment, and discrimination. This lawsuit is a wakeup call to DePaul - to all universities - that ignoring the rights of their Jewish students has consequences, and will no longer be tolerated.”
Max and Michael continue to be subjected to a campaign of harassment both on campus and online, exacerbating their psychological trauma from the attack. For example, pro-Hamas groups routinely broadcast Max’s picture to their followers on social media and on fliers distributed around DePaul’s campus, branding him as “wanted,” referring to him as an “IDF butcher” and declaring that he “got what he deserved.”
“Since October 7, DePaul University has allowed the violent antisemitic rhetoric on its campus to continue to escalate and go unchecked,” said Jaclyn Clark, Counsel for The Lawfare Project. “History shows us that violent rhetoric against Jews leads to violent action, and we have seen this play out on college campuses like DePaul across the country. DePaul must be held accountable not just to our clients for this attack, but to all Jewish students who are under daily threat of similar attacks on DePaul’s campus. This case should also serve as a cautionary tale for higher education institutions across the country: take swift and decisive action now to protect your Jewish students.”
The Complaint highlights that prior to the attack, “there had been repeated acts of violence and other criminal behavior on DePaul’s campus against Jewish and/or Israeli students, including acts against Max and Michael specifically.” It alleges that despite DePaul’s knowledge of such acts and of “the violent anti-Jewish rhetoric permeating throughout its campus for years,” DePaul’s administration “failed to take any decisive action against this hate and has instead fostered an environment in which students and faculty members are permitted to repeatedly act in ways which place Jewish and Israeli students in harm’s way.”
“As co-counsel in this crucial lawsuit, we at Grant & Eisenhofer are committed to ensuring that DePaul University faces full accountability for its neglect in safeguarding its Jewish students,” said Lisa Weinstein, a principal at Grant & Eisenhofer. “This case isn't merely about seeking justice for the victims of a reprehensible attack; it's about affirming the right of all students to a safe educational environment free from hate and violence. Our legal action sends a clear message that indifference to antisemitism and any form of hate-based violence on campus is unacceptable and will be met with rigorous legal challenges.”