NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A former U.S. diplomat was arrested on Wednesday for verbally harassing a halal food vendor in the Upper East Side, police said.
Stuart Seldowitz, 64, a veteran of 30 years in the State Department and adviser to former President Barack Obama, faces charges of harassment and stalking as a hate crime.
Videos of the incident that took place on Nov. 7 near E. 83rd St. and Second Ave. circulated on social media allegedly show Seldowitz questioning vendors with offensive remarks like, "Did you rape your daughter like Muhammad did?" and stating, "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn't enough."
The victim, Mohamed Hussein, 24, told The Independent how Seldowitz made fun of his religion and verbally harassed him on three separate occasions at the Adam Halal Food Cart.
Seldowitz also labeled the vendor a "terrorist" who "supports terrorism." The vendor's response in the video was to repeatedly tell Seldowitz to leave, stating, "I won't hear it."
Seldowitz previously held senior roles across presidencies, spanning both Democratic and Republican administrations. He served as the acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate and was the deputy director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs between 1999 and 2003.
As of November 2022, Seldowitz was listed as a foreign affairs chair for Gotham Government Relations, a lobbying firm based in New York City. However, following the incident, the firm confirmed on Tuesday that it has severed ties with Seldowitz, and he appears to have been removed from their website, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The videos emerged amid increased acts of Islamophobia and antisemitism following the Israel-Hamas war.
Mayor Eric Adams released a statement on Tuesday night condemning the incident.
"Islamophobia is hate," he said. "This vile, disrespectful rhetoric has no home in our city. We reject it — and we're glad to see we're not alone."
