Iran’s Attack on Israel
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Ashley Waxman Bakshi is using her formidable social media platform to raise awareness about her cousin Agam Berger, one of the last remaining women being held hostage in Gaza.
Agam Berger, 19, is among the last remaining women being held in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Agam, who lives in Holon, was visiting Kibbutz Nahal Oz on that black Saturday morning. She was kidnapped while still in her pajamas. Her family realized she was taken alive when video footage of her, injured in a room full of terrorists, appeared on Telegram. Released hostages provided her family with details that she was alive but there has been no new information in a month.
Agam Berger
While every family waiting for their loved ones to come home are in agony, some are better positioned to raise awareness. Some use their English, some have family and friends who can advocate in Washington DC and some are social media influencers with a widespread following.
One of Agam’s cousins is Ashley Waxman Bakshi, a Canadian-Israeli influencer and advocate who bridges the worlds of beauty, diplomacy, and social media. She’s racked up a following of more than 700,000 followers on social media. Bakshi has a degree and professional experience in the fields of government, counter terrorism and homeland security, but she found her niche in the beauty world when she realized Israel needed a beauty influencer online. She covers everything from testing local makeup products in Hebrew for her Israeli viewers, diving into Israeli policy in English, doing make-overs with major pop star Noa Kirel and now advocating online for her cousin Agam.
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“I feel completely awful. I am not able to enjoy food. I am not able to go shopping. I am not able to go to a restaurant. I am just….I am very conflicted because part of me thinks we need to move on and show Hamas they won't win…but I am not in the headspace or the mood,” Bakshi said during an interview with Aish.
“Agam is the sweetest, most harmless innocent thing there is. She plays the violin. She's very talented. A sweet 19-year-old girl. That's exactly what she is,” Bakshi said. “She wrote herself a letter in her diary on her 19th birthday and we read it. She didn't wish for things for herself. She wished for unity in Israel and free love between people.”
Bakshi said that in the first weeks after the onslaught and mass abductions, many people were relying on video footage circulating online to give them clues over the whereabouts of their relatives and friends. Many people turned to Bakshi and her large following of Israelis as a way to publicize the faces of their missing.
“Between October 7 and 9th it was just people sending me pictures of their loved ones asking ‘Can you put this up?’ And it would be a picture of them with their phone number. My entire Instagram story was that. This is how people were getting their information at first. It’s terrible,” Bakshi said.
One of the most distressing parts of the heinous ordeal was not having anyone to turn to for answers. When people would approach the government or army, they had just as many details as the average informed Israeli.
In addition to Agam being held captive, Bakshi’s family also lost three soldiers in the war against Hamas and her husband’s cousin was murdered at the Nova music festival.
“I am just so sad. And I am so worried.” For Bakshi, the stress of the situation has manifested itself into eye infections, rashes and back pains.
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Despite the physical ailments and emotional turmoil, Bakshi says getting videos out is easier than ever – because she has so much to say.
“I got a lot of followers through beauty, but I always shared my story about life in Israel, being a Zionist and shared my story about making Aliyah,” Bakshi said. “I have always used my platform to advocate for Israel.”
Bakshi felt that Israel’s voice wasn’t being heard enough. In 2021’s 11-day Operation Guardian of the Walls between Israel and Hamas, she noticed social media played a large role, describing it as a war in itself. Bakshi pivoted and focused almost all of her content about Israel. It cost her 25,000 followers from within Israel but gained her 25,000 abroad.
“Let’s not forget that not all Israelis are Jewish. I did beauty videos which are for all religions and ethnicities. I always had followers from every religion. Things changed in Israel in May 2021 internally,” Bakshi explained. Before 2021, her mostly female viewership included a lot of Muslim Israelis who came to her page to get makeup product reviews.
“When there is no war,” Bakshi says, “they can follow me and talk make-up. And when there is a war, you lose followers and it becomes political. It’s not like that in Canada.”
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Bakshi moved to Israel after taking a free Birthright Israel tour when she was 18 years old. By age 22 she was already doing army service and decided to stay on board for an additional three years as an Air Force officer selling aircraft and military supplies. In 2012 she accepted a role with the Ministry of Defense and started making beauty videos as a hobby. She decided to pursue it full time and work with brands in Israel. She became very popular in Israel, sparking dozens of fan pages, like “I Love you Ashley,” “Fan page for YouTuber Ashley Waxman” – all run by Israeli women.
Instead of working with foreign armies, diplomats and salesmen, she speaks to women online between 18 and 40 years old who are hanging onto her every word. Bakshi breaks down tough topics with simple on-camera videos that address, for example, Palestinian identity, inaccurate conspiracy theories about Israeli organ harvesting, or the October 7th looting by Gazans.
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When it comes to social media, Bakshi encourages everyone to follow, like, comment and share content they appreciate, even if the platform seems to have a small following of like-minded individuals. “If you see something you don't like, don’t comment! That’s the worst thing you can do. If you see something you don't like, ignore it or block and report,” Bakshi advised.
As war wages Bakshi continues to explain and share information about Israel online. Offline, she attends the Hostages and Missing Families Forum each day, pressuring leaders and negotiators both internally and externally to bring Israel’s remaining hostages back home, including her 19-year-old cousin, Agam Berger.
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