A congressional hearing on hate crimes sparked accusations of bigotry after a Republican senator told a female Muslim director of a think tank to “hide her head in a bag” and accused her of supporting Hamas and Hezbollah.
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana drew condemnation from Democrats as well as Muslim, Jewish and civil rights groups for his comments to Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
The debate was further disrupted when Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was interrupted by a spectator protesting the number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza. “You’re talking about f**king Jews and Israelis. You’re talking about 40,000 people. You’re talking about all these people. Why is anti-Semitism a thing?” the protester yelled, before being chased out of the chamber.
Cruz responded, “This is an anti-Semitic rally. This is a hate rally.”
Republicans criticized the theme of Tuesday’s hearing, set by the committee’s Democratic chairman, Dick Durbin, for conflating anti-Semitism with bigotry against Muslims, Arabs and other groups.
“The goal was to have a hearing that asks why it’s so hard for Jews to go to school,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the committee’s ranking Republican. “Jews are getting punched, they’re getting spat on. It’s totally out of hand. This is not the kind of hearing we can get, so we’re going to work with what we have.”
The Republican-led House subcommittee has already held a series of highly tense hearings focusing on the rise of anti-Semitism on college campuses in the wake of Hamas’ devastating attacks on Israel last October that left some 1,200 people dead, 250 taken hostage and prompted devastating retaliation by the Israeli military.
Two university presidents resigned after House of Representatives hearings deemed their responses to questions about university policies regarding calls to kill Jews insufficient to condemn them.
Graham tried to tread similar territory by asking Berry whether he believed it was the goal of Hamas, the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah or Iran to destroy the one and only Jewish state. “Those are complicated questions,” Berry replied.
That ultimately led to a hostile exchange between Berry and Kennedy, with Kennedy asking Berry, “You support Hamas, don’t you?”
“Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support,” Berry responded, “but asking that question of the executive director of the Arab American Institute brings into focus the issue of hate in our country.”
When Kennedy asked whether he supported Hezbollah or Iran, Berry replied, “Again, I’m very disappointed in this question.”
Mr Kennedy ended his questioning by expressing “disappointment” at Mr Berry’s unwillingness to come out in full opposition to the three groups, and declared he “should hide his head in a bag”.
Asked by Durbin to respond to the tirade, Berry said: “It’s unfortunate that we have had to go through the issues we’re trying to address today as I sit here. It’s unfortunate, it’s really disappointing, but it really illustrates the danger to our democratic system that we’re facing right now. I deeply regret it.”
The Judiciary Committee, with Durbin’s approval, later posted Berry’s response on X, endorsing it with the comment, “A Republican senator told an Arab American civil rights leader that he should ‘put his head in a bag.’ We won’t be amplifying the horrifying footage, but we will be amplifying the powerful responses of witnesses who condemn it.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) accused Kennedy and other Republicans of treating Berry with hostility.
“Maya Berry discussed hate crimes before the committee, and both she and the topic should have been treated with the respect and seriousness they deserve,” said Robert McCaw, CARE’s government relations director. “Instead, Senator Kennedy and others have chosen to epitomize the prejudice that Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years.”
Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, condemned what he called a “discriminatory and vitriolic attack” on Berry.
“It is outrageous and inappropriate to use a hearing about an alarming increase in anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Semitic hate crimes to launch a personal and discriminatory attack on an expert witness who was invited to testify,” he said.
Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women, called Berry’s treatment “heartbreaking.”
“The only Muslim witness was subjected to biased questioning about his support for Hamas and Hezbollah, despite clearly condemning them,” she wrote to X. “This hearing should be fighting hatred, not perpetuating it. The Senate must do more.”