GOP Senator Insults Arab American Witness at Hate Crimes Hearing

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told an Arab American witness that she should “hide [her] head in a bag” after repeatedly asking her if she supported Hamas and Hezbollah during a Tuesday congressional hearing.

“You should hide your head in a bag,” Kennedy told Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, who was adamant she did not support Hamas or violence by any group.

Berry said she found the line of questioning “exceptionally disappointing.”

“I think it’s exceptionally disappointing that you’re looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, ‘You support Hamas,’” she said.

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“Senator Durbin, thank you very much for holding this hearing and for elevating the issue of hate crime. It’s regrettable that I, as I sit here, have experienced the very issue that we’re attempting to deal with today,” she said.

“This has been regrettably a real disappointment but very much an indication of the danger to our democratic institutions that we’re in now,” she added.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) released a statement denouncing Kennedy’s treatment of Berry at the hearing, noting that other GOP senators also took a harsh tone toward Berry.

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