Oct. 7 attack brought to life through VR headsets at University of Florida

A group of activists from the non-governmental organization “Israel-is” and the Seed the Dream Foundation recently visited the University of Florida to share firsthand accounts of the Oct. 7 terror attack in Israel. 

Using virtual reality headsets, they provided students with a harrowing immersive experience of the event, according to WCJB.

Adiel Cohen, an Israeli activist and content creator, explained that the project aims to bring the survivors’ stories to a global audience. The VR experience allows viewers to witness the attack from the perspective of those who were there.

“The entire goal of this project is to make these stories, the stories of survivors that day accessible to the international audience,” Cohen said.

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According to the Israeli government, the Oct. 7 attack resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people.

The University of Florida, known for its large Jewish student population, has also seen significant pro-Palestinian activism. In April, nine pro-Palestine protesters were arrested on campus for various charges, including trespassing and resisting arrest.

Campus Reform previously reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was heavily criticized by The University of Florida’s faculty union group in his search for “antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias.”

“We oppose any form of academic censorship,” the United Faculty of Florida wrote. “UFF will stand strong to protect the educational standards and rights that are the cornerstone of our public higher education system.”

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Campus Reform went on to report that an earlier order, this time from the State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues, had called for a review of all college courses. The review targeted any content that contained anti-Semitic or anti-Israel content.

The faculty union also responded to the order from Rodrigues, stating that they “reject the premise that this directive is a good faith effort to uncover ‘bias,’” and instead “recognize it as another politically motivated attack on academic freedom aimed at chilling speech and intimidating faculty and graduate teaching assistants.”

Campus Reform has contacted the University of Florida for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.