WATCH: Sen. Kennedy makes baseless claim that Arab American witness is 'supporting Hamas'

During a Senate hearing Tuesday on "stemming the tide of hate crimes in America," Sen. John Kennedy asked the director of the Arab American Institute — a civil rights organization — whether she supported the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

After asking Maya Berry whether she was "a longtime Democratic Party activist," Kennedy, a Republican who has represented Louisiana in the Senate since 2017, asked if she supported Hamas.

"Senator, oddly enough, I am going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose of our hearing today in a very effective way," she said. "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."

Kennedy then asked Berry, "You support Hezbollah too, don't you?"

Berry said she found the senator's line of questioning "extraordinarily disappointing."

"I don't support violence, whether it's Hezbollah, Hamas or any other entity that invokes it," she said. "So, no sir."

During the questioning, Kennedy brought up Berry's criticism of a U.S. decision to pause funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after allegations that some agency employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel. A U.N. probe later found that nine agency employees were fired because they may have been involved in the attack.

Berry previously called the UNRWA funding pause “an incredible moral failure.” Kennedy asked Berry if she supported UNRWA and Hamas.

"I think it's exceptionally disappointing that you're looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, 'You support Hamas,'" she said. "I do not support Hamas."

Kennedy then falsely accused Berry of failing to disavow Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran. He also said it was disappointing to him that she wouldn't disavow UNRWA. "I was very clear in my support for UNRWA," she responded.

"You should hide your head in a bag," he said as the room reacted to the exchange.

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Correction: The language accompanying this video originally mischaracterized Kennedy's accusations about Berry's support of UNRWA as false. During the exchange, Berry said she was "very clear" in her support for UNRWA. The language has been updated. We regret the error.

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