Nikki Haley, the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations, had her speech interrupted and heckled by pro-Palestine student activists at the University of Houston, Texas, on Tuesday afternoon.
As she began her speech by saying “I’m here today following a very busy few weeks in American foreign policy,” a student activist stood up and shouted:
Nikki Haley, the blood is on your hands! You continue to sign off on the genocide of a native people; you are an accomplice to terrorists and colonisers!
The interruption resulted in wide applause, with other activists then proceeding to chant, “Nikki, Nikki, can’t you see? You are on a killing spree!” which drowned out the attempts by security to usher them out.
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Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the university, an anti-Zionist and pro-Palestine student advocacy group with branches at campuses across the US, issued a statement on Monday condemning the university’s decision to host the envoy as a keynote speaker. It has not been confirmed, however, if they were behind the protest.
Haley is notorious for her firmly anti-Palestine views and is one of the most vocally pro-Israeli members of the Trump administration, as well as being a disproportionately huge advocate for Israel at the UN.
Most recently, in reaction to the recent massacre of unarmed Palestinian protesters by the Israeli military earlier this month, Haley made the claim that “no country would act with greater restraint than Israel”. Over 65 Palestinians were killed and over 2,700 wounded in that unarmed protest, on which Haley put the blame on Hamas and turned a blind eye to any responsibility by the Israeli military.
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![Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, at the University of Houston on 22 May 2018. The students disrupted her speech saying she 'signed off on genocide' [mariam z/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian-activists-walk-out-of-a-talk-by-UN-envoy-to-the-UN-Nikki-HaleyDd1S4x1VwAIRTUq.jpg?w=296&h=197&ssl=1 "2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki HaleyDd1S4x1VwAIRTUq")
![Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, at the University of Houston on 22 May 2018. The students disrupted her speech saying she 'signed off on genocide' [mariam z/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian-activists-walk-out-of-a-talk-by-UN-envoy-to-the-UN-Nikki-HaleyDd1S4x1U8AEOP2C.jpg?w=296&h=197&ssl=1 "2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki HaleyDd1S4x1U8AEOP2C")
![Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, at the University of Houston on 22 May 2018. The students disrupted her speech saying she 'signed off on genocide' [mariam z/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian-activists-walk-out-of-a-talk-by-UN-envoy-to-the-UN-Nikki-HaleyDd1S4w1UQAAiWA6.jpg?w=296&h=197&ssl=1 "2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki HaleyDd1S4w1UQAAiWA6")
![Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, at the University of Houston on 22 May 2018. The students disrupted her speech saying she 'signed off on genocide' [mariam z/Twitter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian-activists-walk-out-of-a-talk-by-UN-envoy-to-the-UN-Nikki-HaleyDd1S4x4VMAAacTx.jpg?w=296&h=197&ssl=1 "2018_5-22-Pro-Palestinian activists walk out of a talk by UN envoy to the UN, Nikki HaleyDd1S4x4VMAAacTx")