- Stuart Seldowitz, ex-US official was arrested on Wednesday for hate speech against a halal vendor, grotesque Islamophobic comments and callous remarks about Palestinian child deaths.
- Seldowitz denies the video accusations and claims objections to the vendor’s alleged support for Hamas, lacking evidence of such claims.
A former top-tier US government official has been charged following a video capturing him lying about and insulting the Prophet Mohammed (saw), harassing a New York City halal food vendor and labelling him a “terrorist,” and asserting that the loss of 4,000 Palestinian children in Gaza “was insufficient.”
Stuart Seldowitz, 64, ex-deputy director of the US State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, was arrested on Wednesday for aggravated harassment, hate crime stalking, and stalking at a place of employment, according to the New York police.
“A 24-year-old male victim stated to police that an individual approached him at his workplace multiple times, making anti-Islamic statements, causing the victim to feel afraid and annoyed,” the police statement said.
In a video posted on social media, Seldowitz remarks, “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn’t enough.”
The vendor instructs Seldowitz to “go, go, go, go” and “I won’t hear it.” Seldowitz responds, “But you’re a terrorist. You support terrorism.”
Seldowitz, a former acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate, and a senior political officer in the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, claims the video fails to present the full story. He contends his comments were appropriate, reacting to the vendor’s alleged sympathy for Hamas. However, interestingly, there has been no evidence of Seldowitz’s claims that have come to fruition.
Who is Seldowitz?
During the incident involving the harassment of an innocent food vendor, Seldowitz was affiliated with Gotham Relations, a lobby group with significant connections to Israel. It’s crucial to highlight that Seldowitz played a pivotal role in policy-making during the Bush and Obama administrations. He was actively involved in shaping policies related to advocating for a two-state solution and participating in the atrocities committed by America against Afghanistan and Libya.