During hearing on rise in hate crimes, Republican Senator John Kennedy tells Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute, she "should hide her head in a bag," an expression epitomising hostile atmosphere of hearing.
Zahra Yarali
TRT/AA
Supporters of the Palestinian cause advocate for the passage of the Wadee Act.
Photo: TRT World
During a US Congressional hearing that was designed to counter the unprecedented increase in hate crimes nationwide, an American Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) attacked an Arab American community advocate, shedding light on the overarching attitude of the Senate to suppress Palestinian-American voices.
The hearing, held on Tuesday in Washington, DC, took place in the shadow of Israel's war on Gaza and was supposed to explore the wave of hate-fuelled violence sweeping the nation.
Instead, it devolved into political mudslinging, with Republican lawmakers targeting Arab American advocates and derailing discussions meant to provide accountability and justice.
One of the most glaring omissions during the hearing was the failure to acknowledge Wadea Al Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, who was brutally murdered in Illinois last year in what has been recognised as a hate crime.
Wadea's mother, Hanan Shaheen, was among the attendees, alongside prominent figures like Yaqeen Institute founder Dr Omar Suleiman and emergency physician Dr Thaer Ahmad.
However, the killing of her son, who was stabbed 26 times, was conspicuously absent from the discussion.
"I was surprised that these Republican Congress folks could not even muster up the compassion to offer a word of condolence," Dr Omar Suleiman told TRT World in an interview after the hearing.
"[It] was extremely telling of the cruelty, the callousness, the apathy that exists in the halls of Congress today, especially as it relates to Palestinian life. I was particularly disgusted to be honest with you."
'You support Hamas'
Instead of discussing Wadea's death or the uptick in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes, Republican senators used the hearing as a platform to attack Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute, who was the sole Arab witness called to testify.
Senator Kennedy began by reading her biography, which noted her advocacy for Arab and Middle Eastern causes in the US, before launching into a series of inflammatory and unfounded accusations.
He asked Berry, "You support Hamas, do you not?"
Following up with similarly loaded questions about her supposed support for Hezbollah, Kennedy’s line of questioning represented the kind of anti-Arab sentiment that Palestinian Americans had come to fear from this hearing.
During a US Congressional hearing that was designed to counter the unprecedented increase in hate crimes nationwide, an American Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) attacked an Arab American community advocate, shedding light on the overarching attitude of the Senate to suppress Palestinian-American voices.
The hearing, held on Tuesday in Washington, DC, took place in the shadow of Israel's war on Gaza and was supposed to explore the wave of hate-fuelled violence sweeping the nation.
Instead, it devolved into political mudslinging, with Republican lawmakers targeting Arab American advocates and derailing discussions meant to provide accountability and justice.
One of the most glaring omissions during the hearing was the failure to acknowledge Wadea Al Fayoume, the 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, who was brutally murdered in Illinois last year in what has been recognised as a hate crime.
Wadea's mother, Hanan Shaheen, was among the attendees, alongside prominent figures like Yaqeen Institute founder Dr Omar Suleiman and emergency physician Dr Thaer Ahmad.
However, the killing of her son, who was stabbed 26 times, was conspicuously absent from the discussion.
"I was surprised that these Republican Congress folks could not even muster up the compassion to offer a word of condolence," Dr Omar Suleiman told TRT World in an interview after the hearing.
"[It] was extremely telling of the cruelty, the callousness, the apathy that exists in the halls of Congress today, especially as it relates to Palestinian life. I was particularly disgusted to be honest with you."
'You support Hamas'
Instead of discussing Wadea's death or the uptick in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hate crimes, Republican senators used the hearing as a platform to attack Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute, who was the sole Arab witness called to testify.
Senator Kennedy began by reading her biography, which noted her advocacy for Arab and Middle Eastern causes in the US, before launching into a series of inflammatory and unfounded accusations.
He asked Berry, "You support Hamas, do you not?"
Following up with similarly loaded questions about her supposed support for Hezbollah, Kennedy’s line of questioning represented the kind of anti-Arab sentiment that Palestinian Americans had come to fear from this hearing.
Berry handled the attacks with composure, responding to Kennedy's provocations by saying, "Oddly enough, I’m going to say thank you for that question. It demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today."
She denied any support for Hamas and quickly shifted focus back to the real issue: "You asking that question very much puts focus on the issue of hate in our country."
But the attacks did not stop there. At one point, Kennedy even told Berry that she "should hide her head in a bag," an expression that epitomised the hostile atmosphere of the hearing.
Wadee Act introduced
Throughout the second half of the hearing, Republican senators, including Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Cornyn (R-TX), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), took turns deriding Berry and Arab Americans.
Instead of focusing on the very real hate crimes that had brought Shaheen and others to testify, the senators shifted the conversation to free speech policies on college campuses, criticising student protests against Israel's actions in Gaza.
Asked how the concept of political violence became so warped in today's senate hearing, Suleiman responded, "Because it's American exceptionalism, right? America sees what happens to it, not what it does. [It sees] what happens to a very specific part of it and not to the whole of it. And we've never been a part of America."
Despite the disappointment of many attendees, there was one small legislative victory that came out of the hearing: the introduction of the Wadee Act in both chambers of Congress.
The Act, named in honour of Wadea Al Fayoume, aims to address the rise in hate crimes against Arab and Muslim communities.
Dr Suleiman called it a "success," but emphasised that this was just one step in a long fight for justice.
"It requires people to simply insist that they will not be intimidated into silence, and we will not allow our land, our identity, our cause to disappear without us being visible [and] without us standing, especially with those that have unfortunately faced the brunt of this hatred."
SOURCE: TRT World
Historic US hate crimes hearing overshadowed by senator's 'extremism' on Muslim advocate
Senator John Kennedy's accusation of extremism against a leading Muslim civil rights advocate at a senate hearing has faced strong backlash from rights groups.
Brooke Anderson
18 September, 2024
At a US hate crimes hearing, a prominent activist faced intense questioning by US Senator John Kennedy (pictured) regarding Hamas and student protests in support of Gaza. [Getty]
A historic US congressional hearing on the proliferation of hate crime in the US was overshadowed by a series of questions seemingly accusing an Arab speaker of supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
At the centre of the hearing was the case of Wadea Al-Fayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy from Plainfield, Illinois near Chicago, who was stabbed to death by his family's landlord 11 months ago, reportedly because of his background.
In his remarks, Senator Dick Durban of Illinois, who was chairing the hearing, pointed to the danger by white supremacists in the US.
"Since 2000, according to federal law enforcement, white supremacists have been responsible for more homicides than any other domestic extremist group," he said, adding that public figures have a responsibility to not incite hatred.
However, by the end of the hearing, the focus on cases such as that Al-Fayoumi were had been overshadowed by an unusual line of questioning of one of the speakers.
Republican US Senator John Kennedy accused a leading Muslim civil rights advocate, Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry, of supporting extremism during a Senate hearing on hate incidents in the US, drawing criticism from many rights groups.
"You support Hamas, do you not?" Kennedy told Berry, who replied by saying: "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."
In a follow-up question, the senator asked, "You support Hezbollah, too, don't you?" He later told her, "You should hide your head in a bag."
Berry repeatedly said in her responses that she did not support those groups, and added that she found the line of questioning "extraordinarily disappointing."
Hamas, which carried out a deadly 7 Oct. attack on Israel, and Hezbollah are both designated as "foreign terrorist organisations" by the US government.
Multiple rights advocates denounced Senator Kennedy.
"It is absolutely reprehensible that a US senator would weaponise the racial identity of a witness and accuse her of supporting terrorism by using an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim trope in a hearing meant to tackle precisely that kind of bigotry," Council on American Islamic Relations Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw told news agency Reuters.
"This harassment is alarming," Muslim American advocacy group Engage Action said.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who attended Tuesday's hearing, told The New Arab that he thought Berry's answers were "masterful."
"Maya didn't take the bait. She focused on the broader issues after she was asked demeaning questions. She remained on the high ground," he said.
"In the end, Senator Kennedy provided her with the opportunity to respond, and she scored the final point with her ability to turn the tables on him," he added.
Despite widespread praise for Berry's responses by advocacy groups, Zogby pointed to a more concerning aspect to Berry's exchange with Kennedy, which is the possibility that his comments may have now exposed her to public threats against her, the very reason many advocates felt the need to convene such a hearing.
The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee, which organised Tuesday's hearing, also condemned the senator and called Berry's response to him "powerful."
Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel's war on Gaza.
US incidents in recent months include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, and an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York City Jewish centre.
Senator John Kennedy's accusation of extremism against a leading Muslim civil rights advocate at a senate hearing has faced strong backlash from rights groups.
Brooke Anderson
18 September, 2024
At a US hate crimes hearing, a prominent activist faced intense questioning by US Senator John Kennedy (pictured) regarding Hamas and student protests in support of Gaza. [Getty]
A historic US congressional hearing on the proliferation of hate crime in the US was overshadowed by a series of questions seemingly accusing an Arab speaker of supporting Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
At the centre of the hearing was the case of Wadea Al-Fayoumi, a 6-year-old Palestinian boy from Plainfield, Illinois near Chicago, who was stabbed to death by his family's landlord 11 months ago, reportedly because of his background.
In his remarks, Senator Dick Durban of Illinois, who was chairing the hearing, pointed to the danger by white supremacists in the US.
"Since 2000, according to federal law enforcement, white supremacists have been responsible for more homicides than any other domestic extremist group," he said, adding that public figures have a responsibility to not incite hatred.
However, by the end of the hearing, the focus on cases such as that Al-Fayoumi were had been overshadowed by an unusual line of questioning of one of the speakers.
Republican US Senator John Kennedy accused a leading Muslim civil rights advocate, Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry, of supporting extremism during a Senate hearing on hate incidents in the US, drawing criticism from many rights groups.
"You support Hamas, do you not?" Kennedy told Berry, who replied by saying: "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."
In a follow-up question, the senator asked, "You support Hezbollah, too, don't you?" He later told her, "You should hide your head in a bag."
Berry repeatedly said in her responses that she did not support those groups, and added that she found the line of questioning "extraordinarily disappointing."
Hamas, which carried out a deadly 7 Oct. attack on Israel, and Hezbollah are both designated as "foreign terrorist organisations" by the US government.
Multiple rights advocates denounced Senator Kennedy.
"It is absolutely reprehensible that a US senator would weaponise the racial identity of a witness and accuse her of supporting terrorism by using an anti-Arab and anti-Muslim trope in a hearing meant to tackle precisely that kind of bigotry," Council on American Islamic Relations Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw told news agency Reuters.
"This harassment is alarming," Muslim American advocacy group Engage Action said.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, who attended Tuesday's hearing, told The New Arab that he thought Berry's answers were "masterful."
"Maya didn't take the bait. She focused on the broader issues after she was asked demeaning questions. She remained on the high ground," he said.
"In the end, Senator Kennedy provided her with the opportunity to respond, and she scored the final point with her ability to turn the tables on him," he added.
Despite widespread praise for Berry's responses by advocacy groups, Zogby pointed to a more concerning aspect to Berry's exchange with Kennedy, which is the possibility that his comments may have now exposed her to public threats against her, the very reason many advocates felt the need to convene such a hearing.
The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee, which organised Tuesday's hearing, also condemned the senator and called Berry's response to him "powerful."
Rights advocates have warned about rising threats against American Muslims, Arabs and Jews since the eruption of Israel's war on Gaza.
US incidents in recent months include the attempted drowning of a 3-year-old Muslim girl in Texas, the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, the stabbing of a Muslim man in Texas, the beating of a Muslim man in New York, threats of violence against Jews at Cornell University that led to a conviction and sentencing, and an unsuccessful plot to attack a New York City Jewish centre.
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