US Republican senator attacks Arab American advocate during hearing on hate crimes

WASHINGTON

US Senator John Kennedy took aim at a prominent Arab American community advocate during a hearing Tuesday on hate crimes in the United States since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza.

"You support Hamas, do you not?" Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, asked Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute.

"I’m going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today," Berry responded. "Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support, but you asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question very much puts the focus on the issue of hate in our country.”

The senator later asked: "You support Hezbollah too, don't you?"

"Again, I find this line of questioning extraordinarily disappointing," Berry said. "I don't support violence, whether it's Hezbollah, Hamas or any other entity that invokes it."

Kennedy continued to grill Berry, asking this time if she supports or opposes Iran and their hatred of Jews.

"As a Muslim woman, sir, I'm going to tell you I do not support Iran," she answered.

The senator also raised Berry's opposition to the US cutting funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), claiming she supported the agency and Hamas, citing allegations that staff members of UNRWA participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion of southern Israel.

"I think it's exceptionally disappointing that you're looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying you support Hamas," said Berry.

"You should hide your head in a bag," the Republican senator concluded.

The questioning sparked backlash.

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said on X that "the racist, Islamophobic tropes used by many Members of Congress are intended to suppress our voices and incite violence against us. It’s disgusting how many of my colleagues are silent when hate is directed like this against Arabs and Muslims."

The Senate Judiciary Committee posted a screenshot from the hearing on X, saying "a Senate Republican told an Arab American civil rights leader that 'you should hide your head in a bag'."

"We will not amplify that horrible clip. But we WILL amplify the witness’s powerful response calling it out," said the committee.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, issued a statement Tuesday condemning Senator Kennedy for his "anti-Arab bigotry."

"Maya Berry went before the committee to discuss hate crimes. Both Ms. Berry and the topic should have been treated with the respect and seriousness they deserve,” CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, who attended the hearing, said in a statement.

"Instead, Sen. Kennedy and others chose to be an example of the bigotry Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years."