Following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Southern Israel, the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education announced Oct. 13 that it will collect testimonies from witnesses and survivors as part of its developing Contemporary Antisemitism collection, available in the Institute’s Visual History Archive. 

“[The Shoah Foundation had to] swing into action very quickly to secure testimonies of the survivors of Hamas’ antisemitic act of mass violence,” said Robert Williams, the Finci-Viterbi executive director chair of the Shoah Foundation.

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Williams and the Shoah Foundation believe the attacks were antisemitic, though some sources, including the White House, categorize the attacks from Oct. 7 as anti-Israel instead.

The Shoah Foundation has captured audio-visual testimonies from witnesses and survivors of genocide since its founding in 1994, primarily focusing on the Holocaust. The Institute has also made a concerted effort over the last year to document antisemitism occuring after the Holocaust ended in 1945. 

Williams said learning about these experiences through the testimonies of survivors can promote a better sense of cultural understanding and respect.

“When you engage with the testimony of a survivor, especially if it’s a survivor who has lived a life similar to your own, you gain a better understanding of how these acts of hate and hate-filled violence affect real living people,” Williams said.

Leah Hochman, director of the Louchheim School for Judaic Studies, said these testimonies can help link the attacks to history. 

“One thing that’s so important about the Shoah Foundation initiative to get testimony from the Oct. 7 attack … [while] the consequences are unfolding, is to really make sure that testimonies are not lost,” she said. 

The majority of the testimonies from the attacks will capture perspectives of people who are college-aged and younger. Hochman said this relatability will help students be more receptive to survivor perspectives. 

“That is someone who could easily have been in your dorm with you,” Hochman said. “Having someone who is your same age tell you their story, how they have survived this incursion is beyond meaningful.” 

These testimonies will add to nearly 120,000 hours of existing video testimony in the Shoah Foundation VHA, which is available to more than 190 institutions internationally. Hochman said that across departments, USC faculty use Shoah Foundation resources to expand the horizons of what it means to be a listener and witness to history.

“The Shoah Foundation is doing really important work and giving us data, both for how people respond to trauma and how people can learn from events so as to help prevent them in the future,” Hochman said. 

Williams said he is hopeful for the future of antisemitism education because of the Shoah Foundation’s home at USC. In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the Institute. 

“We are committed to supporting its vital work to educate and expose hatred and antisemitism around the world,” the statement read. “We recognize and appreciate the impact this work does to create greater awareness and understanding of these issues here and globally.” 

In the coming months, the Shoah Foundation will fundraise and establish the technical groundwork for this expansion of the Contemporary Antisemitism collection. It will also share instructions on how people can register to give testimony for the VHA. 

“I don’t want to make it sound like it’s just going to be progress from here on out,” Williams said. “[Antisemitism is] the world’s oldest hatred. It’s very difficult to shake it loose. But at the end of the day, you have to remember that antisemitism is an ideology. Like any ideology, it can be changed, but the only way to change it is to understand it and have the will to fight it.”