During the congressional hearing, Maya Berry, the executive director of the Arab American Institute, repeatedly said she does not support Hamas or other terrorist organizations, such as Iran-backed Hezbollah. The exchange occurred at the end of a hearing called “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America,” which featured witnesses to touch on both antisemitism and Islamophobia.

“You support Hamas, do you not?” Kennedy asked after she confirmed she is a “Democratic activist.” 

“Senator, oddly enough, I’m going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very effective way,” Berry responded, to which Kennedy cut her off, saying he needed a yes-or-no answer.

.@SenJohnKennedy: You support Hamas, do you not?@AAIUSA‘s Maya Berry: Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support…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? pic.twitter.com/h7WU3ePLOu

— CSPAN (@cspan) September 17, 2024

“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,” Berry responded.

“I got your answer and I appreciate it. You support Hezbollah, too, don’t you?” Kennedy continued.

“Again, I find this line of questioning extraordinarily disappointing,” she replied, before Kennedy interrupted with, “Is that a no?”

“The answer is I don’t support violence, whether it’s Hezbollah or Hamas or any other entity that invokes it, so no, sir,” she said.

He questioned her ability to say no, to which Berry answered, “I can say no.” Kennedy then asked if she supports Iran and its “hatred of Jews.”

“As a Muslim woman, sir, I am going to tell you I do not support Iran,” Berry said.

After some back and forth, Kennedy then said, “You support Hamas, don’t you?”

“I think it’s exceptionally disappointing that you’re looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, ‘You support Hamas,’” she replied. “I do not support Hamas.”

“You know what is disappointing to me? You can’t bring yourself to say … you don’t support Hamas, you don’t support Hezbollah, you don’t support Iran. You should hide your head in a bag,” Kennedy told Berry at the end of the exchange, to which some in the room let out groans and boos.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement that denounced Kennedy’s exchange with Berry. 

“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,” Robert McCaw, government affairs director at CAIR, said in a statement. “Instead, Sen. Kennedy and others chose to be an example of the bigotry Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years.”

Kennedy’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.