A man seen on video allegedly going on a hateful rant against a halal food worker, fueled by the Israel-Hamas war, was arrested and is now facing charges, according to the NYPD.
The video made the rounds on social media, showing Stuart Seldowitz — a former security adviser to President Barack Obama — launching into the virulent rant. The now-viral incident took place on Second Avenue and East 83rd Street on the Upper East Side.
The edited video doesn’t show what happened before the halal truck worker started recording, but Seldowitz can be heard saying "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what, it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough."
Seldowitz was arrested Wednesday and faces charges, including aggravated harassment and a stalking/hate crime charge, the NYPD said.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The worker is heard saying he was just trying to do his job. Seldowitz told NBC New York that the video posted only shows half the story, saying that the whole thing started after he asked the worker if he was Egyptian, to which the worker said yes.
"I said this must be a tough time to be an Egyptian in New York...And he said why is that? I said well because of all the stuff that’s going on in Gaza and in Israel," Seldowitz told News 4. "He said 'No, it doesn’t cause me any problem...I fully support what Hamas did. It's not an issue for me.'"
That's what Seldowitz upset, and he shot back at the worker.
News
"I said, 'You’re okay with the raping of women, the killing of children, the taking of hostages and the killing of 1,200 people in Israel?' And he said 'Yes, it was all for Palestine.' And that’s what got me upset," said Seldowitz.
The worker who recorded Seldowitz was not working Friday, but another employee said Seldowitz first approached the truck on Nov. 7 and has come back at least three other times.
"We want to feel safe in this community. We don’t want anybody bothering us. We never bother anybody," said Boha Kamel, another worker at the halal spot.
The NYPD is investigating and reviewing the videos, and an officer spoke to workers about the incidents. Both NYC Mayor Eric Adams and New York Attorney General spoke out against what was captured on video, as James called it "disgusting, hateful and New York won’t tolerate it."
Seldowitz did say he regretted some of the comments made, but stood by others.
"The comments that went beyond him and interpreted on attacks against Muslims and Arab Americans and so on were probably not appropriate. The comments I made calling him out for his support of terrorism I think those were appropriate.
Most recently, Seldowitz was a foreign affairs chair for Gotham Government Relations. In the wake of the incident, the group has cut all ties with him.
