NonilexSep 18, 2024

Absolutely disgusting display of #GOP #racism

#GOP senator insults #ArabAmerican advocate: ‘Hide your head in a bag’

Sen #JohnNeelyKennedy, #Senate #Republican badgered the #Arab #American Institute Exec Dir Maya Berry during a hearing about #HateCrimes in #Congress w/questions about whether she supported #terrorist orgs, finally telling her that she should “hide your head in a bag.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/18/john-kennedy-arab-american-hamas/

GOP senator insults Arab American advocate: ‘Hide your head in a bag’

Sen. John Neely Kennedy used a hearing about hate crimes to accuse Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry of supporting terrorists.

The Washington Post
Show threadNonilexSep 18, 2024
#Republican Sen #JohnNeelyKennedy of #Louisiana questioned #ArabAmerican Institute Exec Dir Maya Berry during a #Senate #Judiciary Cmte hearing, asking her whether she supported #Hamas, #Hezbollah or #Iran as she repeatedly told him NO. Berry tried to explain how assuming that an #Arab #American would support a foreign #terrorist organization or state was an example of the kind of thinking [#racism] that leads to #HateCrimes but was repeatedly cut off by Kennedy.
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Show threadNonilexSep 18, 2024

“I didn’t expect a direct #racist attack,” Berry told The WaPo on Wed.

Kennedy’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Kennedy questioned Berry as part of a hearing titled “A Threat to #Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of #HateCrimes in #America.” The other witnesses who testified were Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, & Kenneth Stern, director of the Bard Center for the Study of #Hate.

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Show threadNonilex

#HateCrimes against #Arabs & #Jews have spiked in the #UnitedStates. Berry, who co-chairs the Leadership Conference of #CivilRights & #HumanRights hate crimes task force, told lawmakers that while hate crimes ticked up 7% between 2022 & last year, those against Arabs & Jews spiked by 73% & 58%, respectively.

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Sep 18, 2024 at 10:53pmWeb
Show threadNonilexSep 18, 2024

Perhaps anticipating questions like #JohnNeelyKennedy’s, Berry encouraged senators, despite their concerns about the Oct7 attacks, to focus on “the increase in #HateCrimes our country has experienced for nearly the last decade & the need for a whole-of-society approach that can effectively stem the tide of all #hate targeting all communities.”

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