A New York lobbying firm cut ties with a former White House security adviser who worked for the Obama administration.
Gotham Government Relations, based out of Manhattan, announced in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the company had “ended all affiliation” with Stuart Seldowitz after a series of videos surfaced online Tuesday showing him harassing a halal cart vendor and making Islamophobic comments on two occasions. A halal cart is a food cart which serves primarily halal Mediterranean cuisine.
“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz, an individual who hasn’t contributed to our work in years,” the company wrote in its statement.
— Gotham Government Relations (@GothamGovt) November 21, 2023
“The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm,” the company added.
Seldowitz, who had served as the acting director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate under former President Barack Obama, was recorded making a series of Islamophobic comments and insults to an unidentified vendor.
In one such video, the vendor can be heard asking him to please “leave” because he is working.
Seldowitz, 64, continued to stand in front of the vendor accusing him of supporting Hamas and terrorism.
“I’m an American citizen,” the vendor can be heard saying.
“You’re an American citizen? How? How did you become an American citizen?” Seldowitz asks.
The man informs him that it’s not his business and once again asks him to leave, before adding that he was born in the United States.
“But, you’re a terrorist,” Seldowitz can be heard saying. “You support terrorism.”
"If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn't enough…"
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) November 21, 2023
In a separate incident, US State Department veteran Stuart Seldowitz continues his racist harassment of a street vendor in New York.pic.twitter.com/GP49aoxFzg
In another video, Seldowitz is heard making a series of offensive claims about the vendor’s Islamic faith as the vendor repeatedly says, “I don’t speak English.”
This man wearing a green jacket was berating and harassing a halal cart vendor off 83rd and 2nd Ave in NYC. Does anyone know who this man is? Planning to report to the authorities. pic.twitter.com/GwklyXpsPH
— Layla 🪬 (@itslaylas) November 21, 2023
“By the way, I’ll represent the food vendor pro bono if he wants to bring a lawsuit against Stuart Seldowitz,” David Schwartz, the founder and president of Gotham Government Relations, said in a statement to City and State New York. “I’m absolutely outraged by this video.”
Seldowtiz also served as the foreign affairs chairman for Gothan Government Relations, according to a press release from November 2022.
Since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, leaving more than 1,400 people dead and more than 200 people taken as hostages, there has been a rise in anti-Semitic and Islamophobic incidents and comments.