A Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington ostensibly focused on “stemming the tide of hate” in America took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when a staunch pro-Israel Republican, Senator John Kennedy, launched into an anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim tirade against the sole Muslim witness present.
Maya Berry, executive director of the nonpartisan Arab American Institute, faced a barrage of baseless accusations from the Louisiana senator during yesterday’s proceedings. Kennedy questioned Berry’s allegiance repeatedly, implying without evidence that she supported terrorist organisations.
“You support Hamas, don’t you? You support UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] and Hamas, don’t you?” Kennedy asked aggressively, in a manner that appeared to have been taken straight from an Israeli playbook. Since the start of its genocidal offensive in Gaza, the apartheid state has peddled the baseless claim that the UN relief agency supports terrorism.
Irked by Kennedy’s aggressive line of questioning, the chair cut off his microphone temporarily.
In a blow to Israel’s campaign to designate UNRWA as a terror group, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller clarified the American position on the UN agency in July, stating that it “is not a terrorist organisation.”
As Berry attempted to respond, Kennedy continued his interruptions: “You can’t bring yourself to say you don’t support UNRWA, you don’t support Hamas, you don’t support Hezbollah, and you don’t support Iran. You should hide your head in a bag,” said the senator.
Berry, who had consistently denied supporting any terrorist groups, countered the senator’s accusations, stating, “Senator, oddly enough, I’m going to say thank you for that question, because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today.” In one sentence, Berry highlighted the fact that US senators are not immune to the very hate which the hearing was set up to address.
“Hamas is a foreign terrorist organisation that I do not support,” she explained, “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 incident drew swift condemnation from civil rights organisations, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “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,” said CAIR’s Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, who attended the hearing. “Instead, Sen. Kennedy and others chose to be an example of the bigotry that Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years.”
CAIR also highlighted the alarming rise in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian sentiment in the US. The organisation reported a 69 per cent per cent increase in complaints related to discrimination and hate incidents in the first half of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.
Students protesting against Israel’s genocide in Gaza were subjected to racism, said CAIR. The rights group pointed out that education discrimination incidents spiked in May as student encampments urging universities to take an anti-genocide stand dominated media headlines. “The experience of students and employees during this cycle of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate remain the standout trends compared with past cycles,” added the advocacy group.
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