Gotham Government Relations cuts ties with former Obama administration official caught harassing halal cart vendor

Manhattan-based lobbying agency Gotham Government Relations lower all ties with Stuart Seldowitz on Tuesday after a viral video emerged exhibiting him harassing a halal cart vendor within the Upper East Side. “I did have an argument with a food vendor,” Seldowitz informed City & State. “It is quite possible that it’s me. I mean, I’ve not seen the video, but I believe it’s probably me.”

Seldowitz, who labored within the U.S. State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs after which served as Acting Director of the National Security Council South Asia Directorate within the Obama administration, was named Foreign Affairs Chair at Gotham Government Relations final 12 months.

“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz,” the lobbying agency announced in a statement. “The video of his actions is vile, racist and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm.”

David Schwartz, the founder and president of Gotham Government Relations, informed City & State that Seldowitz was by no means an worker of Gotham Government Relations, simply an affiliate. “By the way, I’ll represent the food vendor pro bono if he wants to bring a lawsuit against Stuart Seldowitz,” Schwartz mentioned. “I’m absolutely outraged by this video.” 

Seldowitz mentioned he was blindsided by the assertion from Gotham Government Relations. “I haven’t done work with Gotham for a very long time,” he informed City & State. “I had a high opinion of the people at Gotham up until I found out that they had issued this statement. I considered the people at Gotham to be friends, and I haven’t had a chance to speak to them, or to try to speak to them as to why they felt the need to issue this statement.”

Gotham Government Relations shouldn’t be the one firm that rapidly tried to distance itself from Seldowitz. On his LinkedIn, Seldowitz claimed to work as a monetary consultant at Northwestern Mutual. But in a publish on X, Northwestern Mutual denied that the person caught on video was an worker or affiliate of the corporate.

The video in query reveals Seldowitz asking the meals vendor racist and Islamophobic questions, together with “Did you rape your daughter like Muhammad did?” and “What do you think of that – people who use the Koran as a toilet?” When the vendor responds that he doesn’t converse English, the person recognized as Seldowitz laughs and says, “That’s why you’re selling food in a food cart, because you’re ignorant.” Seldowitz additionally threatens that the vendor might be deported to Egypt and tortured by “the Mukhabarat,” a reference to the Egyptian intelligence company. A different video reveals Seldowitz telling a halal cart vendor, “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It was enough. It wasn’t enough!” 

In the entire movies, the vendor will be heard asking Seldowitz to go away and customarily attempting to not have interaction with his provocations. The activist who initially shared the movies wrote on X that Seldowitz has repeatedly harassed the halal cart vendor for weeks. An NYPD spokesperson informed City & State that the native precinct is conscious of the movies and is monitoring the scenario.

In an interview, Seldowitz supplied a muted apology. “I regret the whole thing happened and I’m sorry,” he mentioned. “But you know, in the heat of the moment, I said things that probably I shouldn’t have said.”

Seldowitz mentioned that he often passes the halal cart vendor and wished to have interaction him in a dialogue about present occasions within the Mideast. He mentioned he turned offended when the vendor didn’t condemn Hamas. “I went to the food cart expecting to buy a soda and I had an understanding that most of the food cart guys in New York are Egyptian,” he mentioned. “So I said to him, ‘this is a tough time to be an Egyptian in New York’. And he said ‘why?’ And I said, because of what happened on October 7, with Hamas. And he said, ‘well, I approve of Hamas’ or ‘I like Hamas’ or something like that.” 

“If I had to do it all over again, I would not have raised the religious aspect,” Seldowitz mentioned, insisting that he was not bigoted in opposition to Muslims. “I don’t think I’m an Islamophobic guy. I’ve spoken up for equal treatment of Muslims on numerous occasions with numerous different people.”

Seldowitz mentioned that he’s been in a number of arguments with the identical vendor, however denied allegations that he has had confrontations with different distributors across the metropolis. “Yes, I went back because I pass that food cart regularly and I went back and had other arguments,” he mentioned.

New York City Council Majority Leader Keith Powers, who represents the Upper East Side, condemned Seldowitz’s harassment. “This xenophobic and disgusting behavior has no place on the Upper East Side or New York City. No one should be harassed because of their religion or identity,” he wrote in a post on X.

Assembly Member Alex Bores, who additionally represents the neighborhood, visited the halal cart on Tuesday evening to indicate his assist for the vendor. “Hate has no home on the UES. I visited the vendor that has been harassed & gave him my # in case (Seldowitz) comes back,” Bores wrote in a post on X. “He showed me texts from neighbors supporting him & offering to come down if he feels threatened again.”