<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0mSagQ_0vaJZrpp00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0mSagQ_0vaJZrpp00" width="800" height="533" ></figure> WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A Senate Judiciary Committee intended to examine a steady rise in hate dividing the country, ultimately divided the hearing room Tuesday. While exiting the room, one attendee shouted, “moron” at Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Cruz used his speaking time to slam Democrats. Several Republicans complained Democrats ignored their wishes to hold a hearing focused solely on antisemitic threats on college campus. Several campuses have reported an increase in anti-Jewish rhetoric and acts of intimidation since the Israel-Hamas war began. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> “Let’s have a hearing focused on this problem not lumping this problem in with every other problem,” said Sen Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Committee Chairman Sen Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) condemned antisemitic speech and all hate crimes, but said he believed the committee should not prioritize one group over another. “Prioritizing which group is being discriminated against the worst, I don’t believe is a valid exercise of our authority here,” said Durbin. Maya Berry, the head of the Arab American Institute, defended Democrats position and the free speech of students, prompting a contentious back and forth with Sen John Kennedy (R-La.). Kennedy accused the Muslim American civil rights leader of supporting Hamas and went on to tell her she should, “hide her head in a bag.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> According to FBI data, between 2015 and 2022, hate crimes increased 99% . Threats against Jewish and Arab Americans spiked significantly in the months after October 7th and there’s been an increase in threats against Black, Hispanic and LGBTQ Americans in recent years. “All targeted communities are being impacted so we have to have a response that acknowledges that,” says Berry. Berry suggested lawmakers expand resources to combat hate fueled by misinformation online. The Head of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, Dr. Mark Goldfeder, warned Democrats against ignoring the rise of hate specifically targeting Jews. “What starts with the Jews never ends with the Jews,” says Goldfeder. “It did not take very long for the chants to more from death to Israel to death to America.” <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> To protect Jewish students from hate speech, Goldfeder is encouraging Congress to promote the education of anti-Jewish tropes. Goldfeder also called on Democrats to pass federal legislation expanding the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of Israel. The bill passed the House earlier this year with bipartisan support. </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing to examine a surge in reported hate crimes in the U.S