Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) repeatedly accused a leading Arab-American activist of being a Hamas supporter as she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hate crimes hearing on Tuesday, telling her to “put her head in a bag.”

Activist Maya Berry repeatedly said she does not support Hamas and was “disappointed” by the minutes-long exchange at the end of a hearing titled “A Threat to Justice Everywhere: Stemming the Tide of Hate Crimes in America.”

“You’re the executive director of the Arab American Institute, aren’t you?” Kennedy said at the start of the conversation. She said yes, and agreed with Kennedy that she was a Democratic activist.

“You support Hamas, don’t you?” asked Kennedy, referring to the militant group behind the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel. The question drew gasps and surprised laughter from the audience.

“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 then interrupted, insisting that he needed a yes-or-no answer.

“Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support. But the fact that you are asking this question to the executive director of the Arab American Institute brings a lot of focus to the problem of hate in our country,” Berry replied.

“I received your response and I am grateful for it. You also support Hezbollah, don’t you?” Kennedy continued, referring to the Iran-backed militant group.

“I find this line of questioning extremely disappointing,” she replied, before Kennedy said, “Is that a no?”

“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. “You just can’t.”

He then asked her if she supported Iran and “its hatred of Jews,” and she again said no.

He then referred to her previous criticism of Congress for cutting funding for a UN agency called UNWRA, which carries out relief efforts for Palestinian refugees. The allegation was that a dozen of its 30,000 employees were involved in the October 7 attacks. The employees were fired.

Berry said she stands by her comments and supports UNRWA’s relief work.

“Let me ask you again: You support Hamas, don’t you?” Kennedy pressed.

“I find it extremely disappointing that you sit across from an Arab-American witness and say you support Hamas. I do not support Hamas,” she said.

“You know what disappoints me? You don’t have the heart to say, ‘Don’t support UNRWA, don’t support Hamas, don’t support Hezbollah, don’t support Iran.'” You should hide your head in a sack, he concluded, as the audience gasped and roared.

In her opening remarks, Berry said hate crimes in the country typically follow anti-immigrant rhetoric and noted that there has been an increase in hate crimes against Arab, Muslim and Jewish Americans since the Oct. 7 attack.

When asked by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) if she had anything to say after her exchange with Kennedy, Berry replied, “It is unfortunate that as I sit here, I have witnessed exactly what we are trying to address today.”

“By implementing a foreign policy, we can ensure the safety of Arab Americans, Jewish Americans, Muslim Americans, black Americans, Asian Americans, or anyone else. This is unfortunately a real disappointment, but also a clear indication of the danger our democratic institutions are currently in,” Berry said.

Justice Democrats criticized Kennedy for his comments later on Tuesday on social media.

“Political leaders must not fan the flames of hatred and division,” Durbin said on X“Jewish, Arab, Muslim and Palestinian Americans all have a right to safety.”

Kennedy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.