People’s Verdict | Virtual Experience platform | Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute

“The People’s Verdict” Visitor Center at the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute opened in 2021, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The global challenges posed by the pandemic, which restricted physical gatherings worldwide, sparked a need to rethink how the exhibit could be experienced. Rather than seeing this as an obstacle, it was embraced as a unique opportunity to create an innovative solution—one that would not only address the limitations of the time but also open the visitor center to a broader global audience.

Alongside the physical experience at the auditorium in Midreshet Ben-Gurion, a comprehensive plan was developed to adapt the exhibit’s content for the digital world. The Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute and the Prime Minister’s Office immediately recognized the potential and vision behind this move, seeing it as a direct continuation of Ben-Gurion’s legacy—as a leader who always looked ahead and championed bold ideas. With their full support and green light, the project was launched, aiming to allow anyone, anywhere in the world, to take part in the historical and educational experience of ‘The People’s Verdict’.

 

The digital exhibit offers two primary features, available in multiple languages:

A. Global Cinematic Engagement: The exhibit can be screened on any stage worldwide, turning the audience into an active jury. Participants use their own mobile devices as interactive voting terminals, seamlessly bridging the gap between the screen and the spectator.

B. Synchronized Virtual Experience: A fully remote, collective journey. Whether on a laptop at home or a tablet on the go, every participant joins a synchronized real-time screening. The entire group experiences the drama together, making their voices heard through a unified digital voting platform.

 

“The People’s Verdict” plunges the audience into the pivotal dilemmas of Israel’s founding era—issues that continue to ripple through our lives today. Within this cinematic courtroom setting, a special tribunal convenes to deliberate on these foundational questions. The audience is transformed into an interactive jury, intimately engaged in the unfolding legal drama and ultimately holding the power to deliver the final verdict.

The true magic of the experience lies in its ability to bring history roaring back to life. David Ben-Gurion, the founding father of the state, returns from the past as a powerful defense witness, revealing to the courtroom the raw considerations behind his fateful decisions. Joining him on the stand is a pantheon of Israeli history—figures like Menachem Begin, Yigal Yadin, Moshe Sharett, Golda Meir, and David Remez—each providing a sweeping perspective on the events that led to a nation’s defining moments.

The experience fuses history with contemporary debate, allowing visitors to explore the challenges of the past through a bold, interactive lens. It’s where heritage meets engagement.

 

System Interface | FRONT

 

User Interface (UI) | ADMIN

 

The production of “The People’s Verdict” digital platform integrates a range of advanced technologies, aimed at making the exhibit fully accessible to the online world. The process includes:

• Digital Characterization, adapting the exhibit for an online environment while ensuring maximum engagement and viewership.
• Website Programming, including the development of advanced streaming systems that allow for smooth, synchronized broadcasting of large files to multiple locations simultaneously.
• Interactive Systems, providing a personalized user experience that enables active audience participation during the broadcast, mirroring the physical exhibit experience.
• Film Re-editing, optimizing all cinematic content for personal devices such as smartphones and tablets, while maintaining uncompromising visual quality.
• Multi-language Translation of the exhibit into 6 languages, ensuring broad accessibility for a global audience.
• Automated Content Management System (CMS), allowing for efficient, ongoing management and updates of the site and its content without the need for manual intervention.

 

The digital platform guarantees a seamless and accessible viewing experience for everyone, everywhere, while upholding the core principles of interactivity and engagement that the exhibit offers.

 

We invite you to visit the Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute at Midreshet Sde Boker and take part in a powerful and meaningful experience.