Washington, D.C. – During a Senate Judiciary hearing on domestic extremism on Tuesday, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) made racist assertions toward Maya Berry, the Executive Director of the Arab American Institute. During the hearing, Senator Kennedy repeatedly suggested that Berry was a supporter of the terrorist organization Hamas. In response to this overt display of anti-Arab hate, Foreign Policy for America’s Executive Director Andrew Albertson said the following:
“We are appalled by Senator Kennedy’s racist assertions directed towards Maya Berry. This egregious display of anti-Arab hate has no place anywhere in the United States, let alone from a sitting U.S. Senator. Berry is a prominent leader in the Arab American community who was on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to take stronger action to address the alarming rise in hate crimes. Rather than posing questions about this pressing issue at hand, Senator Kennedy subjected Berry to the same type of hate-filled bigotry she is working to combat. Such blatant racism cannot be tolerated, and Senator Kennedy must face censure for his remarks. FP4A stands firmly with Berry and the entire Arab American community in rejecting all forms of hatred and discrimination.”
###
