Rep. Jamaal Bowman (DN.Y.) attacked former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday, calling her a “disgusting human being” after she was photographed writing “Finish them” on an Israeli bomb during a visit the country this week.
The message on the shell, photographed and celebrated by Israel’s former ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, read “Finish them! America [heart] Israel always, Nikki Haley.”
Bowman sharply criticized Haley for the comment in an interview with CNN, which comes as criticism of Israel’s operations in Rafah mounts after a weekend airstrike killed more than 45 people.
“Nikki Haley is disgusting. She’s a disgusting human being for doing this,” he told CNN’s Abby Phillip. “This is genocidal language and it is the language that turns the American people against our government.”
“Why do we continue to support not only the consistent attacks on Gaza, but also the forever wars?” Bowman continued. “There are people in our country, all their lives, including myself, who feel like we are constantly at war with someone who is spending trillions, killing millions, while people suffer, starve and die right here in our country.”
The progressive congressman also directed his criticism at President Biden for his continued support of Israel despite the rapid rise in civilian casualties in the conflict and allegations of war crimes brought against the Israeli military.
Last week, the UN-backed International Court of Justice ordered Israel to halt its operations in Rafah due to the impact on civilians. The court is also overseeing a case classifying the conflict as genocide.
“US weapons are burning children alive and so he has to respond,” Bowman urged Biden. “We cannot send another weapon or another dollar to Israel and [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu at this moment because they have advanced what the ICJ called plausible genocide, and everyone sees that. My district sees this, the country sees this.”
Bowman faces a tight primary in his district, where the Israel-Hamas war has taken center stage after he openly called for a ceasefire in the conflict. His opponent, George Latimer, the Westchester County Executive, has strongly supported Israel and received support from AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
