As the world marks 1,000 days since the October 7 attacks, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edut 710 (Testimony 710) have announced a partnership to create a first-of-its-kind AI-powered living archive of nearly 2,000 survivor, witness, first responder, bereaved family, and released hostage testimonies. Launching in October 2026, the archive will allow users to search, translate, and explore thousands of first-hand accounts through natural language while preserving the authenticity and integrity of each testimony. Designed for educators, researchers, museums, artists, and the public, the project aims to ensure that the voices of October 7 remain accessible for learning, remembrance, and historical documentation for generations to come.
Every testimony begins with one person telling one story. But when there are thousands of stories, the challenge is ensuring they can continue to be heard.
As the world marks 1,000 days since the October 7 attacks this Thursday, the urgency of preserving the voices of those who lived through that day has never been greater.
To meet that challenge, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Edut 710 ( Testimony 710 ) have signed a cooperation agreement to establish a first-of-its-kind AI-powered living archive of the present of October 7 testimonies. Developed by the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Digital Humanities at the Hebrew University, the archive will officially launch in October 2026, marking the third anniversary of the attacks.
Since October 9, 2023, Edut 710 has documented nearly 2,000 testimonies from survivors, witnesses, first responders, bereaved families, and released hostages. Together, these testimonies form an unparalleled record of human experience. The next challenge is making these voices accessible, allowing educators, researchers, museums, artists, curators, and the wider public to discover and engage with the individual stories that together form the collective memory of October 7.
The archive is designed as a living archive of the present . Rather than serving as a repository where testimonies are simply stored, it enables users to explore thousands of first-hand accounts through natural language. Powered by artificial intelligence trained exclusively on the growing Edut 710 testimony collection, users will be able to search across testimonies, translate them into multiple languages, identify recurring themes and experiences, and connect stories across places, people, and events.
Whether preparing a classroom lesson, curating a museum exhibition, conducting academic research, creating artistic work, or simply seeking to better understand October 7, users will be able to engage directly with authentic first-person testimony.
The archive is designed to make testimony more accessible and more meaningful. Through natural-language search, multilingual translation, and AI-powered analysis, users will be able to discover stories relevant to their interests and needs, whether for teaching, research, exhibitions, artistic work, or commemoration. By connecting thousands of individual voices into a searchable resource, the project opens new possibilities for learning from lived experience while preserving the integrity of every testimony.The digital archive will include transcripts, metadata, translations, and related materials, and will be maintained through the technological infrastructure and academic expertise of the Hebrew University's Faculty of Humanities and Faculty of Digital Humanities. The methodology developed through the project is expected to serve as a global model for making large-scale testimony collections accessible while maintaining the highest ethical and academic standards.
The importance of making first-hand testimony accessible has taken on renewed clarity in recent weeks. When former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council last week, she said, "I'm standing here today—not as a report, not as a statistic. I am living proof." Her words underscored a defining challenge of preserving the voices of October 7: what resonates across time and cultures is not statistics or summaries, but individual voices speaking in the first person.
Prof. Renana Keydar said: "One of Hebrew University's most important responsibilities is to preserve knowledge and make it accessible to society. The testimonies of October 7 are among the most significant human documents of our time. Together with Edut 710, we are creating a living archive of the present that ensures every testimony remains both an individual story and part of a larger body of knowledge that educators, researchers, artists, museums, and future generations can continue to learn from."
Gil Levin, CEO of Edut 710, said: "From the first testimonies recorded on October 9, our mission has been to preserve the voices of survivors and witnesses. Today, our responsibility is to ensure those voices continue to reach people. Together with the Hebrew University, we are creating a resource that will allow educators, researchers, museums, artists, and communities around the world to encounter these stories directly and meaningfully."
The collaboration reflects the shared commitment of the Hebrew University and Edut 710 to ensuring that the voices of October 7 remain living voices, preserved for future generations, and made accessible to the people who will teach them, study them, create from them, and carry them forward.
About the Collaboration
The partnership with Hebrew University grew organically from the work of Edut 710 itself. As the testimony collection expanded, it became clear that preserving thousands of stories was only the first step. The next challenge was enabling people to discover and learn from those voices without losing the individuality of each testimony. The collaboration brings together Edut 710's archive with the Hebrew University's expertise in digital humanities, archival preservation, and responsible AI.
The connection between Edut 710 and the Hebrew University was initiated by Prof. Renana Keydar, Professor of Law and Digital Humanities, Gluskin-Granovsky Chair in Digital Humanities and Academic Director of its Center for Digital Humanities at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, testimony researcher and one of the founders of the Edut 710 initiative.
Edut 710 is a civic initiative founded by leading professionals in documentary filmmaking, historical research, education, technology, and mental health. The initiative was established to document and preserve the testimonies of survivors of October 7, recognizing the profound historical importance of these voices. The first filmed testimonies were recorded on October 9 in Eilat and the Dead Sea region. Since then, testimony collection has continued uninterrupted. To date, approximately 2,000 testimonies have been filmed, with around 1,100 already available on the 710 Testimony website and YouTube channel. The remaining testimonies are currently in various stages of editing and processing. With the exception of a small number of board members, the organization’s activities are carried out entirely by volunteers. Edut 710 has received several major awards, including the Dror Prize for Social Change, the Landau Prize of Mifal HaPais, and the Civil Society Heroes Award of the Zionist Council. Featured testimonies on the platform include well-known figures from Israeli public life, leading media personalities, community leaders, released hostages, and families of abductees. To learn more: https://www.edut710en.org/