Stuart Seldowitz, former Obama NSC advisor, said “We killed 4,000 Palestinian kids… wasn’t enough” and was taken into police custody after harassing a halal vendor
Executive summary
Video recordings show Stuart Seldowitz — a former State Department and Obama-era National Security Council official — directing Islamophobic abuse at an Upper East Side halal cart vendor, including the line “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids… it wasn’t enough,” and New York police took him into custody amid a hate‑crime investigation and related charges [1] [2]. Gotham Government Relations publicly cut ties after the videos circulated; Seldowitz has issued limited apologies while some outlets report he reached a plea deal avoiding certain charges by agreeing to anti‑bias training [3] [2] [4].
1. What the videos show and how outlets reported it
Multiple news organisations published clips and transcripts in which a man identified as Stuart Seldowitz verbally assaults a halal‑cart worker, uses slurs about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, calls the vendor a “terrorist,” and is heard saying “If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids… it wasn’t enough,” language repeatedly quoted by Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Guardian and others [5] [6] [7]. Vice and NBC note the line appears in the edited footage shared online; outlets emphasise the videos circulated widely on X and other platforms, prompting public backlash [8] [2].
2. Arrest, charges and official responses
New York police placed Seldowitz in custody and opened a hate‑crime investigation; reporting lists preliminary charges including aggravated harassment, hate‑crime stalking and multiple stalking counts — all misdemeanors, according to local stations and the NYPD statement [1] [9] [7]. Gotham Government Relations announced it had ended its affiliation with Seldowitz after reviewing the viral footage [3].
3. Who Stuart Seldowitz is — résumé and disputed titles
News reports identify Seldowitz as a long‑time State Department official who served in roles related to Israel‑Palestinian affairs and later on the National Security Council during the Obama era; some pieces call him an “Obama adviser” or note past NSC South Asia duties [3] [7] [10]. Skeptics and background pieces show variations in exact job titles and dates; available sources do not provide a single authoritative CV, and some outlets cite his Gotham bio for previous roles [10] [3].
4. His statements afterward and legal disposition
Seldowitz gave interviews and a partial apology in which he said he regretted his conduct and denied being Islamophobic while acknowledging he “expanded into insulting his religion,” according to his comments reported by NDTV and others [11] [12]. Several outlets later reported he accepted a plea arrangement to complete anti‑bias training in exchange for dismissal of certain hate‑crime charges, per court reporting in January 2024 [2] [13]. Available sources do not detail the full court record or all prosecutorial statements beyond those reports [2].
5. Public reaction, political context and competing narratives
Coverage highlights wide public condemnation: local officials, community members and the vendor’s supporters responded strongly, with customers rallying to support the cart and Gotham Government Relations calling the videos “vile, racist” [3] [4]. Some pieces frame the incident as part of a broader spike in both antisemitic and Islamophobic street confrontations after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, noting heightened tensions driving reciprocal incidents in New York [14] [15]. Opposing narratives include Seldowitz’s lawyer and supporters who argue the footage may be incomplete and that context matters; his lawyer characterised him as “devoid of hate” in press remarks cited in some reports [16]. Available sources do not present an alternative video that fully exonerates Seldowitz or shows the complete exchange prior to the filmed segments [2].
6. What remains uncertain or unreported
Major outlets reproduce the contested phrase and the arrest details, but none of the cited sources provide an uncut, authoritative recording of every interaction or a complete transcript of what preceded the viral clips; reports note the posted videos were “edited” and may not show prior words or provocations [2] [1]. Detailed prosecutorial filings and any final court findings beyond the reported plea‑deal terms are not fully presented in the available reporting [2]. Sources do not independently confirm the precise timing or number “4,000” as an established factual event — they report the utterance and its circulation [5] [8].
7. Why this matters: accountability, public figures and social media
Journalists and civil‑society commentators in the cited coverage treat this as a test case of how public servants are held to account when private conduct is captured and amplified online, and how edited social media clips can shape reputations, employment and criminal inquiries quickly [3] [8]. The incident also fed broader debates about rising Islamophobia and the politicised atmosphere around Israel‑Palestine in US cities [15]. Readers should note the persistent factual anchor across sources: the recorded phrase and arrest are consistently reported, but fuller context and final legal outcomes require court records beyond the news summaries available here [7] [2].
If you want, I can compile a timeline of the video posts, outlet pickup, police complaint dates and reported court actions using the cited articles above.