ISRAEL-is and the Seed The Dream Foundation’s Survived to Tell Tour, an initiative that shares testimonials of those who survived the Oct. 7 attack, makes a stop at Arizona State University in Tempe, on Tuesday, April 16.

This initiative, planned in coordination with Building Israel Connections Engagement Project Campus Partners, has toured across seven states and a dozen college campuses, a press release explained. 

What initially began as an online initiative aimed at raising social media awareness, Survived to Tell has amassed over 120,000 followers.

“Since Oct. 7, 2023, the ADL has documented a total over 5,500 antisemitic incidents, marking a staggering 331% increase in reports compared to the previous year,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt stated in the release. 

Greenblatt added that the Survived to Tell Tour underscores the critical role of education amidst increasing attacks on college campuses. 

The six people selected to be part of the Tour represent a group of people who will recount their experiences from the Oct. 7 attack which they survived.  As they journey across these college campuses, their aim is to educate, foster empathy and ignite deeper and meaningful conversations about what is happening in the Middle East. 

ISRAEL-is, a non-governmental organization based in Israel, has always been dedicated to training over 100,000 youth and young adults to advocate for Israel both in person and through digital platforms, the release stated.

"Seed the Dream Foundation's partnership with ISRAEL-is began with our shared goal of bringing Israelis and Israeli stories to BICEP campuses," Marcy Gringlas, president and co-founder of Seed the Dream Foundation, stated in the release.

The format of the college visits will invite both Jewish and non-Jewish students to participate in a mixture of sessions, including intimate group discussions with each survivor, panel Q&A’s, and a deep-dive format mirroring the popular TV show “Sorry for Asking.” 

According to the release, the survivors on the tour include:

• Dor Kapah managed to escape from the party, saving seven people;
• Yonathan Diller who survived the massacre but witnessed the rape of women at the event;
• Hadar Or Elmakias who was shot in the leg when she tried to escape the attack;
• Shye Weinstein, a photographer at the party, who managed to escape the attack;
• Nehoray Machloof Levy, who ran away, but was sure that the end was near, so he filmed a farewell video to his family; and
• Mazal Tazazo who was tied with ropes and beaten and nearly kidnapped to Gaza, but managed to be saved by playing dead.