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Senator John Kennedy's anti-Arab attacks on Maya Berry went beyond what was expected.

On Tuesday, Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry appeared as a witness before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on an issue that should be of concern across the political spectrum: hate crimes. In both her prepared statement and her testimony, Berry informed lawmakers of the need for stronger enforcement of the law to get a handle on the country's growing “hate crime crisis.”

She honored both Jewish and Arab victims of hate crimes in America and presented statistics on the impact of these crimes on all sorts of demographic groups, including blacks, Asians and members of the LGBTQ community.

It's hard to imagine any reasonable person taking issue with Berry's comments, except to question how effective the model is at combating hate crimes. But Senator John Kennedy, Republican Senator from Louisiana, has shown in a shocking demonstration that he is not a reasonable person.

Kennedy used the hearing to launch a series of racist attacks against Berry.

Instead, Kennedy used the hearing as an opportunity to launch a series of racist attacks on Berry, centering on accusations that she supported terrorism. His vile broadsides were a striking example of why the hearing was held in the first place and how politicians use personal attacks to silence criticism of Israel.

Shortly after Kennedy began questioning Berry, he abruptly asked her, “You support Hamas, don’t you?”

“Senator, oddly enough, I want to thank you for that question because it illustrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very powerful way,” Berry replied.

Kennedy interjected: “Let’s start with a yes or no.”

“Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support,” Berry replied, “but by asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question, you are bringing a very strong focus to the problem of hate in our country.”

“You support Hezbollah too, don’t you?” Kennedy then asked, implying that he did not believe her answer regarding Hamas.

Berry replied: “I find this type of questioning extremely disappointing.”

“Is that a no?” Kennedy wanted to know.

“I do not support violence, whether from Hezbollah or Hamas or any other organization that uses it, so no, sir,” she said.

“You just don't have the heart to say no, do you?” Kennedy said, although Berry's answer couldn't have been clearer. He continued his absurd line of questioning, asking her whether she supported or opposed Iran “and its hatred of the Jews.”

After Berry said she did not support Iran, Kennedy asked why she had criticized the U.S. decision to cut funding to the UN agency that supports Palestinian civilians as a moral failure (a correct position, but one that should be irrelevant at a hearing on hate crimes) and then used that to go back to calling her a terrorist sympathizer. “You can't bring yourself to say you don't support UNRWA, you don't support Hamas, you don't support Hezbollah and you don't support Iran,” Kennedy shouted. “You should put your head in a sack.”

His statement elicited gasps and cries of disapproval from the crowd in the hall.

What a shameful display. Berry was brought in as an expert from a civil rights organization to speak on the domestic problem of hate crimes. But Kennedy was only interested in vilifying an Arab-American witness as a supporter of foreign American opponents. He did this not by pointing to her past behavior or positions, but by simply putting words in her mouth and then refusing to accept any of her statements as true.

In an interview with NBC News after the hearing, Kennedy said he was right to question Berry's positions, claiming that “her website says” that she is a Democratic activist, that she believes Israel is committing genocide and that Congress should fund UNRWA. Whether true or not, none of those things have any bearing on whether she supports Hamas, Hezbollah or Iran. He also claimed – again falsely – that she would “never answer” whether she supports those organizations.

The only reasonable explanation for Kennedy's behavior is his belief that her identity as an Arab-American was enough to define her as a supporter of terrorism.

Kennedy's grotesque bigotry undermines the concept of democratic discourse in which citizens' interests are defined by their actions and words, not their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Whether sincere or not, Kennedy's refusal to take Berry at her word is a refusal to accept her as a legitimate citizen. And as Berry pointed out, Kennedy's behavior underscored exactly why hate crimes are a problem in America—too many Americans fall victim to the fallacy of generalizing and demonizing marginalized identities.

Finally, Kennedy's rhetoric was a reminder of how many supporters of Israel in Washington confuse any kind of support for Palestinian dignity – in this case, funding for UNRWA – with anti-Semitism. These smear campaigns are designed to prevent criticism of Israel through personal attacks.

When Berry went before the Senate to discuss the important issue of hate crimes, she was met with a barrage of abuse. She should be commended for her sensitivity to how these crimes affect people from all sorts of marginalized groups. And Kennedy, not Berry, should hide his head from such a vile expression of hate.

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