Virtual Museum · Teen Spirit

Know the Truth
About Israel

Walk through six rooms of stories, evidence, and voices that reveal the real Israel — its pain, its people, and its resilience. Created by Israeli teens for the world.

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Room 1
October 7th
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Room 2
#MeToo Unless You're a Jew
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Room 3
Voices from Nova
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Room 4
Children's Drawings
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Room 5
Myth Busters
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Room 6
The Beauty of Israel

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Room 1
October 7th
The day that changed everything

October 7, 2023

On the morning of October 7th, 2023 — the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah — Hamas launched the largest terrorist attack in Israeli history. Over 3,000 terrorists crossed from Gaza into Israel, massacring entire communities, burning homes with families inside, and abducting over 250 people to Gaza.

1,200+
Israelis murdered
251
Taken hostage
364
Murdered at Nova festival

"My life will never be the same"

At the UN in New York, Yael Reichert from Lahav 433 revealed 433 filmed testimonies — in the shadow of the prolonged silence of women's organizations around the world. Evidence of systematic sexual violence committed on October 7th was presented to the UN Security Council.

The Nova Music Festival

The Nova festival was a celebration of peace and music. Young Israelis gathered at dawn to dance — and were met with a massacre. Hamas terrorists hunted festival-goers through fields and hiding spots. 364 young people were murdered. Dozens were taken to Gaza as hostages.

A systematic, planned attack

This was not spontaneous. Hamas planned October 7th for years — using tunnels, paragliders, motorbikes, and pickup trucks. Communities like Be'eri, Kfar Aza, and Nir Oz were devastated. Families were burned alive in their homes. Babies were murdered in their cribs.

Room 2
#MeToo Unless You're a Jew
The silence the world chose

Where was the world?

Sexual violence was used as a systematic weapon of war on October 7th. Women were raped, mutilated, and murdered. Yet major women's organizations around the world stayed silent for months — exposing a devastating double standard.

Amit Soussana — survivor of captivity

Amit Soussana was kidnapped from her home and held in Gaza for nearly three weeks. She was brutally sexually assaulted in a child's room by one of her Hamas captors. Held in six different locations — including a 40-foot underground tunnel — she was beaten and tortured. In a New York Times interview she said: "I didn't want them to take me like an object." She chose to speak publicly for the sake of the other hostages still held in Gaza.

UN Security Council testimony
Amit Soussana became the first released hostage to publicly testify about sexual abuse by Hamas — speaking before the UN Security Council to demand the world take notice.

"Systematic Strategy, Sadistic Abuse"

The first detailed report on the sexual violence of October 7th documented beyond any doubt that sexual violence was a deliberate, planned component of the attack. When most of the victims were also murdered, the moral duty to speak became undeniable.

433 filmed witnesses — presented to the UN

Yael Reichert from Lahav 433 presented 433 filmed testimonies to the UN Security Council — in the shadow of silence from global feminist organizations. Former Facebook VP Sheryl Sandberg stated: "Believing women — their bodies tell how they spent their last minutes."

Room 3
Voices from Nova
Their last messages. Their voices.

Listen. Remember.

These are real voice messages sent during the October 7th attack — to parents, to friends, to loved ones. They didn't know if they would survive. Press play to listen.

Yuval Raphael — from survivor to Eurovision

Yuval Raphael survived the October 7th massacre at the Nova festival by hiding for hours under the bodies of those shot around her. In 2025, she represented Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest — bringing her story and her voice to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Her journey from the fields of Kibbutz Re'im to the Eurovision stage embodies Israeli resilience: the refusal to be silenced, the insistence on life.

Yuval Raphael performing at Eurovision Yuval Raphael with Israeli flag
Room 4
Children's Drawings
War through the eyes of children

What children draw
when sirens sound

Israeli children have grown up with bomb shelters, rocket sirens, and constant uncertainty. These drawings — analyzed by expert Michal Wimer — reveal their inner world in ways that words cannot express.

Shani's drawing of guards protecting the house

"I drew guards protecting the house from red alarm!"

Shani Kedosh, age 9, drew this after a day full of frightening rocket alarms. She drew guards with helmet, shield, and sword protecting her house during a "red alert." Analysis by Michal Wimer: "The coloring is fast-paced and unsettled — mainly in the area of the roof, symbolizing restless thoughts. The large lock, the two flowers like sentinels — you can see the child's sense of instability alongside a wonderful ability to build a safer alternative reality in her imagination."

Ziv's drawing of his hand stopping the war

"Ziv's hand stops the war"

Ziv, a first-grade student, drew himself and his father in a shelter — with his hand enormous, as if stopping the war. His mother: "We don't have a shelter; he drew the alarm device from the army." Michal Wimer: "He draws himself and his father as protectors — like Superman. Children imagine they could stop the war, even though in reality they have no control. It's wonderful that a child can use art to build an alternative reality."

Noya's drawing of a missile above small figures

"No person has the ability to defeat the missile"

Noya drew an enormous missile above tiny human figures. Michal Wimer: "Noya chose only one color — reflecting emotional constriction — and drew one massive missile above small, powerless figures. There is no ground in the drawing: a child without ground has lost her sense of stability. The small figures alongside the large missile indicate helplessness — as if no one can cope with what is coming."

Room 5
Myth Busters
Facts vs. misinformation

Setting the record straight

Tap any claim to reveal the evidence-based response. These are the most widely spread myths about Israel — and the truth behind each one.

Is Israel an apartheid state?
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FALSE

Israel is a democracy where Arab citizens have full and equal rights — they vote, serve in the Knesset, sit on the Supreme Court, and hold senior military positions. Arab Israelis comprise ~20% of the population and participate fully in Israeli society. Apartheid is a legal system of racial segregation — Israel has no such system. The Israeli Declaration of Independence guarantees equal rights to all citizens regardless of religion, race, or gender.

Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza?
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FALSE

Genocide requires documented intent to destroy a people. Israel's war in Gaza is a direct military response to Hamas's October 7th massacre. Israel drops millions of warning leaflets, makes phone calls, and sends SMS messages before strikes. Gaza's population has grown substantially over decades. The ICJ has not found Israel guilty of genocide; it ordered provisional measures while proceedings continue.

Why is Israel bombing Gaza and Lebanon?
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CONTEXT NEEDED

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in direct response to the October 7th massacre — the deadliest attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas has fired tens of thousands of rockets at Israeli cities since 2005. In Lebanon, Hezbollah — backed by Iran — fired thousands of rockets into northern Israel, displacing 60,000 Israelis. Israel targets terrorist military infrastructure. Hamas and Hezbollah deliberately operate from hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Does Israel have a right to exist?
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ABSOLUTELY YES

Israel was established in 1948 under the UN Partition Plan — accepted by Jewish leaders, rejected by surrounding Arab states. The Jewish people have a continuous 3,000-year historical and cultural connection to this land. Israel is recognized by the UN and the vast majority of countries worldwide. It is the only Jewish state in the world — surrounded by 22 Arab states spanning 13 million km².

Does Israel deliberately target civilians?
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FALSE

The IDF operates under strict rules of engagement and international humanitarian law. Before strikes, Israel warns civilians through leaflets, phone calls, SMS, and "roof-knocking" warning munitions. Senior US, UK, and NATO officers have stated Israel takes more precautions than most Western militaries. Hamas, by contrast, fires rockets from civilian areas and uses hospitals as command centers.

Room 6
The Beauty of Israel
More than a conflict

This is Israel

Israel is ancient and modern, sacred and vibrant. Three religions. Nine million people. Endless beauty. There is so much more to Israel than what makes the headlines.

Jerusalem skyline

Jerusalem

Holy to three faiths for 3,000 years

Dead Sea Israel

Dead Sea

The lowest point on Earth

Tel Aviv aerial

Tel Aviv

The city that never sleeps

Negev desert Israel

The Negev

Ancient desert, timeless landscape

Israeli people helping Palestinian farmers

In the midst of war, Israeli volunteers — soldiers, asylum seekers, and civilians — partnered with the ARCCA organization to help Palestinian farmers harvest their crops. Over 80 volunteers worked across 12 farms. Every day, buses carrying 30 people traveled to volunteer in fields across central Israel. This is the Israeli character: solidarity and mutual responsibility, even in the hardest of times.

A nation of innovation

Israel — a country of just 9 million people — has more companies on the NASDAQ than any nation except the US and China. Israelis invented the USB flash drive, Iron Dome, cherry tomatoes, drip irrigation, and the emergency bandage used by militaries worldwide. Israel has more Nobel Prize winners per capita than almost any other country. In the middle of war, Israeli scientists and engineers keep building tomorrow.

Three religions, one small land

In Jerusalem's Old City, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock stand within walking distance of each other. Every Friday, the Muslim call to prayer echoes across the same city where Jewish Shabbat candles are lit and church bells ring on Sunday. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where Christians, Jews, and Muslims all have full religious freedom.

🎁 Win an Israeli Gift Box

You've explored the museum — now enter our raffle for a chance to win a special Israeli gift box, curated to bring a little piece of Israel right to your door. One lucky winner will be contacted by email.

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Doubi
Museum guide · Israel advocate
Shalom! I'm Doubi 👋 Ask me anything about Israel, October 7th, or the museum rooms — I'm here to help!