Content creator Shlomo Blass came up with the idea of developing a new interactive video about David Ben Gurion after realizing many young students don't know enough about Israel, and that an interactive video about Ben Gurion and Israel's history could be very useful for emissaries doing hasbara. That was how the David Ben Gurion Escape Rooms was born. “I’ve created videos and animations in the past but I wanted something which would last longer – for 30 to 60 minutes – and give people, especially young students or children something which is more informative and tells them the story about how Israel was established," says Blass, the director and producer of David Ben Gurion Escape Rooms, and a creator of videos and animations with a love for Israel as an Israeli citizen and a Zionist. The video tells the story of the founding of Israel through its main character, David Ben Gurion. “Imagine it’s the 14th of May, 1948 and David Ben Gurion is about to come out with a very important statement and he sends you to his office to pick up the proclamation of independence. But you were locked in the room and there are nine locks on the door and the only way to get out is by watching animations and solving quizzes with each one at its turn opening another lock.” He adds: “This is the experience in the room. You go around and you’re looking for clues and you’re watching things and you’re answering all these fun puzzles and drag and drop games and blind maps.” You don’t need any prior knowledge of Israel’s history. The games teaches you as you go along. Blass feels that most users are somewhere in the middle in terms of knowing Israel’s history. The game is for everyone. “The reactions [have been] amazing. We had teachers in New York schools using it for third graders, using it with some assistance, and students using it in other places, schools in Australia, emissaries in the UK used it. This year we already have schools that are going to use it.” In the wake of all the antisemitism and anti-Zionism going on, the game is a tool that people can use day-to day to teach about Israel. “In many cases we find ourselves in other countries in the Diaspora arguing points that have to do with contemporary issues but it really starts from knowing our history, knowing the facts, knowing what happened in the last 100 or 120 years," Blass says. "It’s important to know the foundations because as a person who’s been involved in different hasbara initiatives, in many cases you find yourself debating the basic facts about how the Jews came here and what are their connections to the land and what led to what and what Israel offered to its neighbors.”
