Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and current U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, bragged to the number one pro-Israel lobbying organization in America about the many ways she’s blocked Palestinian human rights from being addressed by the United Nations.
At AIPAC’s policy conference in March, she proudly admitted to using her power to discriminate against a Palestinian official and prevent him from serving at the U.N.:
So when they decided to try and put a Palestinian [former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad] in one of the highest positions that had ever been given at the UN, we said no and we had him booted out.
Fayyad, a popular diplomat, was going to be appointed to lead the U.N. Mission to Libya, until Haley objected. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claimed at the time that his sudden rejection of Fayyad had nothing to do with U.S. pressure.
In her AIPAC speech, Haley also explained how she pressured the U.N. to retract a report commissioned by Dr. Rima Khalaf, the Secretary of Economics for West Asia, that documented Israel’s practices of segregation and apartheid against Palestinians:
And a ridiculous report, the Falk Report, came out. I don’t know who the guy is or what he’s about, but he’s got serious problems. Goes and compares Israel to an apartheid state. So the first thing we do is we call the secretary general and say, this is absolutely ridiculous. You have to pull it. The secretary general immediately pulled the report. And then the director has now resigned.
The report had been written by Dr. Richard Falk and Dr. Virginia Tilley. Richard Falk is an international law and international relations scholar who taught at Princeton University for forty years, and was Visiting Distinguished Professor in Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Tilley, a professor at Southern Illinois University, is also a recognized expert on the region and the author of multiple books and papers.
Haley was the first governor to pass a law punishing businesses that participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), and she promised to continue her anti-BDS campaign at the U.N.:
With the BDS [boycott, divestment, and sanctions] movement that we were able to stop in South Carolina, we’re going to continue to take that to the U.N. and make sure that they understand that is not what we need to be focused on.
“For anyone who says you can’t get anything done at the U.N., they need to know there’s a new sheriff in town,” Haley told the AIPAC crowd to thunderous applause. “I wear heels. It’s not for a fashion statement. It’s because if I see something wrong, we’re going to kick them every single time.”
Haley was a South Carolina state legislator and governor who had previously worked in her mother’s waste management company. She has a B.S. in Accounting.
Politicians from both parties seek endorsement by AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), which opens the door to large campaign donations.
Many feel that Haley is angling for higher office. Politico reports: “Her name is often raised in Republican circles as a potential future contender for the White House or other high-profile roles in government.”
Haley herself has said, “Everyone thinks that I’m ambitious, and everybody thinks I’m trying to run for something, and everybody thinks I want more.”
Haley says this is not true.
The Falk report and Dr. Khalaf’s letter of resignation can be read here. Richard Falk’s and Virginia Tilley’s response to Haley’s actions, published by The Nation, can be read here.