US senator accuses Muslim advocate of supporting extremism in hearing on hate

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator John Kennedy accused a leading Muslim civil rights advocate of supporting extremism during a Senate hearing on hate incidents in the U.S., drawing criticism from many rights groups.

"You support Hamas, do you not?" Kennedy told Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya 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."

Islamist militant groups Hamas, which carried out a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and Hezbollah are both designated as "foreign terrorist organizations" by the U.S. government.

Multiple rights advocates denounced Senator Kennedy.

"It is absolutely reprehensible that a U.S. senator would weaponize 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 Reuters.

"This harassment is alarming," Muslim American advocacy group Engage Action said.

The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee, which organized 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 in Gaza following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.

U.S. 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 center.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)