{"id":2342842,"date":"2024-09-18T12:44:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senator-accuses-arab-american-witness-of-supporting-hamas-you-should-hide-your-head-in-a-bag-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-18T12:44:58","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:44:58","slug":"gop-senator-accuses-arab-american-witness-of-supporting-hamas-you-should-hide-your-head-in-a-bag-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-senator-accuses-arab-american-witness-of-supporting-hamas-you-should-hide-your-head-in-a-bag-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP senator accuses Arab American witness of supporting Hamas: \u2018You should hide your head in a bag\u2019 &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgop-senator-accuses-arab-american-witness-of-supporting-hamas-you-should-hide-your-head-in-a-bag-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2342842&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>During a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whats-next-great-awakening-or-great-reset\/\" title=\"What\u2019s Next? Great Awakening or Great Reset?\">congressional hearing<\/a> titled &#8220;A\u200c Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the\u2064 Tide of Hate Crimes in America,&#8221; \u2063Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) confronted Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute,\u2062 questioning her alleged support for Hamas and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmaker-demands-investigation-into-actblue\/\" title=\"Lawmaker Demands Investigation Into ActBlue\">terrorist organizations<\/a>. Despite\u200d Berry\u2019s repeated clarifications that\u200b she does not support \u200cHamas or\u200b Hezbollah, Kennedy pressed for a simple yes-or-no answer, which\u200c she found disappointing and indicative of the hate being addressed\u200d in the hearing. Berry articulated her stance against violence and reiterated her\u2064 disapproval \u200dof \u2063Iran, emphasizing the negative implications of Kennedy&#8217;s questions toward Arab Americans. The exchange highlighted the ongoing challenges of prejudice and the complex discourse surrounding terrorism and civil rights in America.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">GOP senator accuses Arab American witness of supporting Hamas: &lsquo;You should hide your head in a bag&rsquo;<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1762931\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-kennedy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>John Kennedy<\/a> (R-LA) and an Arab American witness got into a back-and-forth exchange Tuesday after Kennedy repeatedly accused her of sympathizing with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Hamas<\/a> and other terrorist groups.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>During the congressional hearing, Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, repeatedly said she does not support Hamas or other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/terrorism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"terrorist organizations\">terrorist organizations<\/a>, such as Iran-backed Hezbollah. The exchange occurred at the end of a hearing called &ldquo;A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America,&rdquo; which featured witnesses to touch on both antisemitism and Islamophobia.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You support Hamas, do you not?&rdquo; Kennedy asked after she confirmed she is a &ldquo;Democratic activist.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Senator, oddly enough, I&rsquo;m going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very effective way,&rdquo; Berry responded, to which Kennedy cut her off, saying he needed a yes-or-no answer.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SenJohnKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@SenJohnKennedy<\/a>: You support Hamas, do you not?<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AAIUSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@AAIUSA<\/a>&#8216;s Maya Berry: Hamas is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawmakers-consider-enacting-statute-to-increase-punishments-for-domestic-terrorism\/\" title=\"Lawmakers consider enacting statute to increase punishments for domestic terrorism\">foreign terrorist organization<\/a> that I do not support&hellip;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? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/h7WU3ePLOu\">pic.twitter.com\/h7WU3ePLOu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cspan\/status\/1836085942416707641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support, 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,&rdquo; Berry responded.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I got your answer and I appreciate it. You support Hezbollah, too, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo; Kennedy continued.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Again, I find this line of questioning extraordinarily disappointing,&rdquo; she replied, before Kennedy interrupted with, &ldquo;Is that a no?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The answer is I don&rsquo;t support violence, whether it&rsquo;s Hezbollah or Hamas or any other entity that invokes it, so no, sir,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>He questioned her ability to say no, to which Berry answered, &ldquo;I can say no.&rdquo; Kennedy then asked if she supports Iran and its &ldquo;hatred of Jews.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As a Muslim woman, sir, I am going to tell you I do not support Iran,&rdquo; Berry said.<\/p>\n<p>After some back and forth, Kennedy then said, &ldquo;You support Hamas, don&rsquo;t you?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s exceptionally disappointing that you&rsquo;re looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, &lsquo;You support Hamas,&rsquo;&rdquo; she replied. &ldquo;I do not support Hamas.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You know what is disappointing to me? You can&rsquo;t bring yourself to say &hellip; you don&rsquo;t support Hamas, you don&rsquo;t support Hezbollah, you don&rsquo;t support Iran. You should hide your head in a bag,&rdquo; Kennedy told Berry at the end of the exchange, to which some in the room let out groans and boos.<\/p>\n<p>The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement that denounced Kennedy&rsquo;s exchange with Berry.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; Robert McCaw, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pro-life-groups-respond-to-scotus-decision-to-let-texas-heartbeat-act-stand-as-litigation-continues-life-is-winning\/\" title=\"Pro-Life Groups Respond to SCOTUS Decision to Let Texas Heartbeat Act Stand as Litigation Continues: Life Is Winning\">government affairs director<\/a> at CAIR, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cair.com\/press_releases\/breaking-news-cair-condemns-u-s-senator-kennedys-anti-arab-hate-during-hate-crimes-hearing\/?emci=1b6c8145-3675-ef11-991a-6045bda8aae9&amp;emdi=90ff7f9c-3775-ef11-991a-6045bda8aae9&amp;ceid=126928\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;Instead, Sen. Kennedy and others chose to be an example of the bigotry Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy&rsquo;s office did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>&rsquo;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1762931\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1762931\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GOP Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) confronted an Arab American witness, Maya Berry, during a congressional hearing on hate crimes, accusing her of supporting Hamas and other terrorist organizations. Despite Berry&#8217;s repeated denials of any support for Hamas or Iran-backed Hezbollah, Kennedy pressed her for a simple yes-or-no answer regarding her stance. Berry responded by emphasizing that Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization she does not support and pointed out that his questioning highlighted the issue of hate in the country. The exchange escalated as Kennedy continued to challenge her, asking if she supported Hezbollah and Iran. Berry firmly stated that she does not endorse violence from any group and reiterated her lack of support for both Hamas and Hezbollah. In response to his insistence on labeling her views, Kennedy remarked that she should &#8220;hide your head in a bag,&#8221; prompting discontent among those present at the hearing. The Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized Kennedy&#8217;s behavior as an example of the discrimination faced by Arabs, Palestinians, and Muslims recently<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2342843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kennedy-on-Harris-abstractions-scaled-1024x683.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[41144,6733,6203,13022,4012],"class_list":["post-2342842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-arab-american","tag-controversy","tag-gop","tag-hamas","tag-senator"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kennedy-on-Harris-abstractions-scaled-1024x683.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2342842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2342842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2342843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2342842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2342842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2342842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}