Holiday Horror Story, an Instagram page documenting the horrors of the October 7 massacre through a series of "Instagram Stories," will debut on March 14, launched by Israel's Civil Advocacy Center, the center announced Tuesday.
Yona Wizental, the producer of Eva's Story, will produce the project. Eva's Story, an Instagram project designed to raise awareness of the Holocaust by telling the story of Holocaust victim Eva Heyman through short videos on the app, made waves online. The production had over 300 million views worldwide, according to the center.
Instagram stories are short photos or video clips that are posted online and disappear 24 hours later, and Holiday Horror Story will showcase the October 7 terror attack through such stories. The first story will be posted in the morning on March 14, but the page is already live, and Instagram users can already follow it.
Harnessing the abilities of social media
"During the Holocaust, there were no social networks, but horrors from October 7 were documented and broadcasted live for all to see," said Civil Advocacy Center head Eliav Batito.
"Together, we created a historical documentation highlighting the dimensions of the tragedy. Especially in days when we witness denial of October 7 events –including rape and other horrors, we must share the truth with the world and explain what really happened."
According to the center, a major goal of the initiative is to reach audiences that Israel has a hard time reaching, especially American youth.
"The biggest challenge throughout has been how to reach those young people in the United States who don't understand what is happening here," said Wizental.
"Through comprehensive and focused investigative work, we gathered numerous materials and documentation, creating a unique Instagram story reflecting the events of that day," he added.
"For too many years, we have worked on the advocacy front with youth the same way we work with adults," added Batito. "That does not work. We have to understand that youth all over the world are exposed to unfiltered content that includes 'fake news,' creating a real difficulty in explaining the Israeli narrative. The best way to reach youth is through the 'language' in which they speak and the social media that they use."
Amy Spiro contributed to this report.