The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) for his anti-Arab bigotry targeting a respected Arab American leader during a Senate hearing on hate crimes.
During a U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing on Tuesday titled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America,” Senator Kennedy – and other senators – deployed common anti-Arab and Islamophobic stereotypes during his questioning of Arab American Institute Executive Director Maya Berry.
SEE: Witnesses Testify on Hate Crimes Before Senate Judiciary Committee
“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,” said CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, who attended today’s hearing. “Instead, Sen. Kennedy and others chose to be an example of the bigotry Arabs, Palestinians and Muslims have faced in recent months and years.”
In July, CAIR reported that the surge in anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian hate that erupted last October continued in the first half of the 2024.
From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming complaints, a sixty-nine percent increase over the same period in 2023. Education discrimination incidents spiked in May as student encampments urging universities to take an anti-genocide stand dominated media headlines. The experience of students and employees during this cycle of anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian hate remain the standout trends compared to past cycles.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com