close
close

first Drop

Com TW NOw News 2024

    • Senator John Kennedy’s anti-Arab attacks on Maya Berry were excessive
    news

    Senator John Kennedy’s anti-Arab attacks on Maya Berry were excessive

    Vaseline Posted on

    On Tuesday, Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on an issue that should raise concerns across the political spectrum: hate crimes. In both her prepared statement and her testimony, Berry informed lawmakers of the need for stronger enforcement of the law to address the country’s growing “hate crime crisis.”

    She recognized both Jewish and Arab American victims of hate crimes and shared statistics on the effects of those crimes on a variety of demographics, including Black Americans, Asian Americans, and members of the LBGTQ community.

    It’s hard to imagine how any reasonable person could disagree with Berry’s comments, other than to question the effectiveness of the hate crimes enforcement model. But in a shocking display, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., showed that he is not a reasonable person.

    Kennedy used the hearing to launch a series of racist attacks on Berry.

    Instead, Kennedy used the hearing as an opportunity to launch a series of racist attacks on Berry, centered on accusations that she supports terrorism. His repulsive broadsides were a stunning illustration of both why the panel was held in the first place and how politicians use ad hominem attacks to silence criticism of Israel.

    Shortly after he began questioning Berry, Kennedy abruptly asked her, “You support Hamas, right?”

    “Senator, oddly enough, I’m going to thank you for that question, because it illustrates very effectively the purpose of our hearing today,” Berry replied.

    Kennedy interrupted: “Let’s start with a yes or no.”

    “Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support,” Berry responded, “but asking that question of the director of the Arab American Institute highlights the problem of hate in our country.”

    “You support Hezbollah too, don’t you?” Kennedy then asked, implying that he didn’t believe her answer about Hamas.

    Berry responded: “I find this series of questions extremely disappointing.”

    “Is that a no?” Kennedy demanded.

    “I do not support violence, whether it is Hezbollah, Hamas or any other entity that calls for violence, so no, sir,” she said.

    “You just can’t bring yourself to say no, can you?” Kennedy said, though Berry’s answer couldn’t have been clearer. He continued his absurd line of questioning, asking her whether she supports or opposes Iran “and their hatred of Jews.”

    After Berry said she didn’t support Iran, Kennedy questioned why she criticized the U.S. decision to cut funding to the UN agency that helps Palestinian civilians as a moral failing (a valid point to make, but one that should be irrelevant to a hate crimes hearing) and then used that to label her a terrorist sympathizer. “You can’t bring yourself to say you don’t support UNRWA, you don’t support Hamas, you don’t support Hezbollah, you don’t support Iran,” Kennedy shouted. “You should put your head in a bag.”

    His statement prompted muffled cries and disapproving reactions from those in the room.

    What a disgraceful display. Berry was brought in as an expert from a civil rights organization to speak on the domestic issue of hate crimes. But Kennedy was only interested in smearing an Arab-American witness as a supporter of America’s foreign adversaries. He did this not by referring to her past behavior or positions, but by simply putting words in her mouth and then refusing to accept her statements as true.

    In an interview with NBC News after the hearing, Kennedy said he was right to question Berry’s views, claiming that “her website says” she is a Democratic activist, that she believes Israel is committing genocide, and that Congress should fund UNRWA. True or not, none of those things have any bearing on whether she supports Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran. He also claimed — again, incorrectly — that she “would never answer” whether she supported those entities.

    The only logical explanation for Kennedy’s behavior is that he believes her identity as an Arab-American woman is sufficient to define her as a supporter of terrorism.

    Kennedy’s grotesque bigotry undermines the concept of democratic discourse, in which the interests of citizens are determined by their actions and words, not by their ethnicity or their gender or sexual orientation. Whether sincere or not, Kennedy’s refusal to take Berry at her word is a refusal to accept her as a legitimate citizen. And as Berry pointed out, Kennedy’s behavior underscores precisely why hate crimes are a problem in America — too many Americans fall prey to the fallacy of generalizing about and vilifying marginalized identities.

    Finally, Kennedy’s rhetoric was a reminder of how many Israel supporters in Washington will confuse any support for Palestinian dignity — in this case, funding for UNRWA — with anti-Semitism. These smear campaigns are designed to discourage criticism of Israel through ad hominem attacks.

    Berry went to the Senate to discuss the important issue of hate crimes, only to be met with a barrage of insults. She should be commended for her sensitivity to the toll these crimes take on people from all kinds of marginalized communities. And it is Kennedy, not Berry, who should hide his head in the face of such a vile display of hate.

    Vaseline
    View all posts

    You Might Also Like