RootsTech is “the world’s largest family history conference and year-long learning platform. With thousands of classes, inspiring speakers, meaningful activities and joyful connections, RootsTech brings the human family together like no other event.”
They’ve just announced palestinian Arab comedienne Maysoon Zayid as one of the keynotes speakers at RootsTech 2022. And while there are definitely inspiring things about her story as a disability advocate, there seems to be some propagandizing going on.
Every summer, she and her sisters would go to their grandparents’ village in Palestine, with no TV, no cell phones, and no internet. Summer after summer, she grew connected to her roots and to the story of her family and her ancestors. There she started developing her storytelling talent and learned the value of equality and connection across cultures.
The “no TV, no cell phones, and no internet” makes it sound like the village was very primitive, and while there is no mention of blaming Israel for this, one could assume so, given the narrative we are fed by the mainstream media. According to Zayid’s own blog post, the village was Deir Debwan. It doesn’t look too shabby
with lots of nice houses and cars
and…horses
But apparently no TV, no cell phones, and no internet.
My guess is Zayid was embellishing. She has shown quite a flair for it; take this from the same blog post:
I had gotten used to being strip-searched at the airport, but when I was eight I was subjected to far worse. They beheaded my bunny, Checkers. It was not self-defense. It was murder. Checkers was a blue and white stuffed bunny with a beating heart that traveled with me. The Israelis could have easily x-rayed Checkers to see what was inside of him, but instead they decapitated him and pulled out his heart. Then they handed him back in pieces. I will never forget dropping his head as I struggled to keep all his parts together. My grandmother, in an effort to console me, reattached Checker’s head. Unfortunately, the cross-stitching queen of Deir Debwan had only red thread. The result was horrifying. That would be the first of many memorable run-ins.
This is Zayid writing how airport security murdered her stuffed bunny.
I hope that Zayid will stick to inspiring stories of overcoming her disability and leave the anti-Israel propaganda out of her speech. Otherwise, RootsTech will not be fulfilling its goal to “bring the human family together like no other event,” but rather sowing more seeds of division.
Hat tip: Michal
