On November 6, 2024, two masked attackers punched two students who were visibly showing support for Israel at DePaul University.

The attack took place outside of the student center on DePaul’s campus, where the two students – one of whom previously served in the Israeli military – were standing with a sign reading, “Come talk about Israel with an IDF soldier.” According to the Chicago Jewish Alliance, students often stand outside of the student center with similar signs, with the goal of inviting dialogue about the situation in the Middle East.

Both students were lightly injured but declined medical treatment.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about violent attacks on campus, apparently intended to disrupt open and critical discourse. Students and members of the public must refrain from violence, especially on campus, and respect the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression, and university authorities must take reasonable measures to ensure safe conditions for living, learning, and expression for students. In addition to the harm to the immediate victims, such actions undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://offices.depaul.edu/president/notes-from-rob/2024-2025/Pages/nov-6-2024-incident-on-campus.aspx
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/2-jewish-students-punched-at-depaul-university/
https://news.diocesetucson.org/news/depaul-university-president-appalled-by-attack-on-two-jewish-students-on-campus
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2024-11-07/two-jewish-students-attacked-at-chicagos-depaul-university