Through CAMERA on Campus’s #FaceTheTruth campaign, students will hear first-hand accounts and confront misinformation about Israel.
(Boston) – Two years after the Hamas-led assault on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, wounded thousands and left 251 taken hostage, a student advocacy organization is trying to make sure the events of that day are neither forgotten nor distorted.
CAMERA on Campus, the higher education division of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, is relaunching its #FaceTheTruth campaign this fall. The initiative aims to honor victims of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, amplify survivors’ voices and push back against what CAMERA calls a wave of misinformation and rising antisemitism on American campuses.
“The relaunch comes amid an academic environment marked by escalating tensions around the Israel–Hamas war,” said Douglas Sandoval, managing director of CAMERA on Campus. “Encampments and disruptive protests have appeared at schools including Columbia University and Rutgers University, where some demonstrators have expressed support for Hamas or portrayed the Oct. 7 attacks as resistance. Jewish and pro-Israel students have described an increasingly hostile atmosphere, with harassment, social ostracism and false narratives circulating widely on social media.”
A centerpiece of the 2025 effort is a partnership with Israel-Is and its “Survive to Tell” project, a virtual reality experience that lets students step virtually into the grounds of the Nova music festival and southern Israeli communities hit on Oct. 7. Survivors narrate the scenes, recounting how they fled, hid or fought back against Hamas gunmen.
“Just as Yasser Arafat marked ‘Nakba Day’ on the very day five Arab armies invaded Israel in 1948, the Palestinian-led anti-Zionist movement is again trying to claim victimhood over the memory of the October 7 Simchat Torah Massacre,” said Seth Mendel, managing editor of CAMERA on Campus. “Our students are mourning and calling for the release of hostages even as activists use this anniversary to vilify Israelis and Zionists. The Survive to Tell campaign keeps survivors’ voices in the public square and prevents the history of Oct. 7 from being rewritten.”
In a recent five-day tour of Florida campuses that included Oral Roberts University, Florida State University and Florida International University, the program reached more than 350 students. According to CAMERA on Campus, about 80 percent of participants said they knew little or nothing about the attacks before seeing the VR presentation.” I would change the wording at the beginning since ORU is not in FL.
One student fellow who helped organize a stop on the tour said the immersive storytelling struck a chord on campus. “We have all seen how fast misinformation spreads and how it can lead to bullying, harassment, discrimination, and even violence when left unchallenged,” the student said. “Experiencing survivor stories through VR reminded my peers that Israelis are people, not the caricatures pushed by dishonest activists and mainstream media.”
Nimrod Palmach, who founded Survive to Tell after fighting to rescue civilians on Oct. 7, said the project grew out of a fear that the truth would be denied or forgotten. He recalled walking through the kibbutz of Be’eri and hiding outside Alumim as the attacks unfolded.
“I knew no one would believe what I had just witnessed,” Palmach said. “We had to bring the Nova festival and the kibbutzim to campuses. While saving lives that day, I saw two forces: Israelis fighting for justice, human rights and empathy, and Hamas terrorists bent on destruction. There is a clear line between good and evil. People must choose.”
Alongside survivor storytelling, CAMERA on Campus plans to expand training and resources to help students counter false claims about Israel and Oct. 7. Organizers say the campaign’s goal is not only to preserve the memory of the attacks but also to prepare Jewish and pro-Israel students for another year of activism and hostility.
The group is encouraging students, faculty members and community supporters to take part in #FaceTheTruth events and share survivors’ testimonies. Details and resources are available at FaceTheTruth.net.
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About CAMERA on Campus
CAMERA on Campus is the higher education division of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA), a 40-year-old nonprofit dedicated to promoting accurate and balanced coverage of Israel and the Middle East. Through training, mentorship and strategic support, CAMERA on Campus empowers student leaders to challenge misinformation, fight antisemitism and advocate effectively for truth on college campuses.
Media Contact
CAMERA on Campus
סת' מנדל
Email: seth@camera.org.
