Israeli-American Civic Education Institute

ASHES OF IDENTITY On October 7th, Israel endured an atrocity that defies comprehension, an attack not only on civilians, but on the very idea of Jewish existence. Yet in the face of this darkness, a deeper battle emerged: the battle for truth. As the smoke cleared, it became evident that Israel was not only fighting terrorists on the ground but also confronting a global media ecosystem that rushed to distort, deny, and rewrite what had happened. Ashes of Identity confronts this reality head-on. For the first time in modern history, Israeli archaeologists, experts usually tasked with uncovering ancient Jewish history, were urgently called upon to identify the remains of Jewish victims using advanced archaeological methodologies. The brutality of the Hamas massacre was so extreme, so intentionally annihilatory, that even ZAKA, Israel’s elite disaster-response unit, often could not rely on DNA. The terrorists had not only murdered, but they had also incinerated, destroyed, and attempted to erase any trace of human identity. These archaeologists became unexpected heroes, guardians of truth in a world where truth itself is now under attack. But while these professionals worked tirelessly to recover evidence of the slaughter, a different kind of destruction unfolded globally: A wave of antisemitism, fueled by lies, disinformation, and the moral collapse of Western media, swept across the world. Overnight, the victims were recast as villains. Terrorists became “freedom fighters.” The massacre was minimized, denied, or twisted beyond recognition by social media influencers, news outlets, and institutions that once claimed to stand for human rights. The UN, instead of defending the murdered and kidnapped, became a platform for justifying their killers. Ashes of Identity exposes this dangerous inversion of reality. It draws an undeniable parallel between the pre-Holocaust 1930’s where Jews were blamed for their own annihilation, and today’s climate, where antisemitism mutates in real time, adapted, rebranded, and weaponized through headlines, viral posts, and the silence of those who should know better. This film is not only a documentary. It is an investigation. Into how history is erased. Into how truth is manipulated. Into how antisemitism is justified in the name of “activism.” And into how the events of October 7th became the spark for a global assault on Jewish identity. Why Your Support Matters Your contribution ensures that this story, the true story, is preserved, documented, and brought to the world with the urgency it deserves. Our award-winning team, creators of the internationally acclaimed Holocaust documentary Baltic Truth, is committed to exposing the lies, elevating the voices of survivors, and honoring those whose identities terrorists sought to destroy. All U.S. contributions are tax-deductible through our 501(c)(3) partner, The Israeli-American Civic Education Institute. Why This Film Matters Now The October 7th attacks were not only an assault on people, they were an assault on truth. on memory and on our identity itself. In the aftermath, Israeli archaeologists, keepers of the past, became the defenders of the present, ensuring that the world could not deny what happened. Their work stands as a powerful symbol of resilience: that even when the intent is to reduce a people to ashes, identity endures. Join us in creating Ashes of Identity. Help us confront the lies, expose the antisemitism, and ensure that the truth of October 7th can never be buried, distorted, or erased.