Two Jewish students at DePaul University in Chicago who were “visibly showing their support for Israel” were targeted Wednesday by masked attackers, according to a statement from the university’s president.
The students, two men in their 20s, were assaulted by unknown assailants who struck one victim in the face and body and pushed the other one to the ground before running off, the Chicago Police Department said, adding both declined emergency medical aid.
Police are investigating the assault as a hate crime, the department said Thursday. “The offender verbally engaged the victim and made anti-Semitic remarks before repeatedly striking the victim,” the police said
“We are outraged that this occurred on our campus,” the university’s president, Robert L. Manuel, said in a statement. “It is completely unacceptable and a violation of DePaul’s values to uphold and care for the dignity of every individual.”
Authorities also released several images of two men, described as persons of interest in their 20s, and are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying them. The police did not say whether the assailants wore masks.
The university is actively working with the Chicago Police Department to investigate the incident, Manuel said.
The incident, which was initially classified as simple battery, took place on the university’s Lincoln Park campus.
How the victims were showing support for Israel was not immediately clear.
The campus witnessed tensions earlier this year when authorities dismantled a student-led encampment in May, following over two weeks of demonstrations calling for the university’s divestment from companies with ties to Israel. The encampment was one of the last remaining encampments in the Chicago area at a time when college campuses across the US were experiencing such protests, according to CNN affiliate WLS.
Wednesday’s incident comes as tensions in the Middle East rage on, with Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza yielding a dire humanitarian crisis while stoking global advocacy from supporters of Israel and Palestinians, many in support of a ceasefire.
It follows an alleged hate crime incident in nearby West Rogers Park, where a suspect has been charged in an attack last month on a Jewish man en route to a synagogue.
Threats to Jews in the United States tripled in the year after the deadly October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, preliminary data provided to CNN by the Anti-Defamation League shows. The Council on American-Islamic Relations got 8,061 reports of anti-Muslim bias in 2023, the highest number in the 28 years the group has tracked hate, it said in April.
“We will do all we can to hold those responsible accountable for this outrageous incident,” the DePaul president said Wednesday.
CNN has reached out to the state’s attorney’s office for comment.
This story has been updated with additional information.