'Sweetheart deal' for US former official Stuart Seldowitz who harassed Muslim food vendor in New York

Rights advocates are condemning the "sweetheart deal" struck for a former US State Department official for harassing an Egyptian Muslim street vendor over his background, dropping the hate crime charges in exchange for anti-bias training.

Weeks into Israel's war in Gaza, in November, a video of Stuart Seldowitz went viral, showing the former government official, who previously worked for the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, repeatedly harassing and threatening Mohamed Hussein, 24, a New York City food vendor. 

"Did you rape your daughter like [Prophet] Mohammed did?" Seldowitz yelled at the young man on one of the days he harassed Hussein at his workplace.

In another instance, he said: "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn’t enough," presumably in reference to Israel's onslaught on Gaza since 7 October, which killed at least 24,500 people, mostly women and children.

In an apparent threat to the young vendor's immigration status and appearing to show off his knowledge of the region, Seldowitz said: "I’ll send your picture to my friends in Immigration. The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents. Does your father like his fingernails? He’ll take them out one by one."

In court, Seldowitz described his actions as happening in the heat of the moment, arguing that his statements do not represent who he normally is.

However, the viral video of the harassment clearly shows the two men wearing different clothing during Seldowitz's rants, showing that the harassment happened over multiple days, with Hussein repeatedly quietly asking him to leave.

"This person was harassed multiple times," Afaf Nasher, executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told The New Arab. "We see a disproportionate response when our communities are victimised versus other communities."

She noted that based on CAIR's research of Muslim Americans reporting hate and bias incidents, only four percent report their experiences to law enforcement, with the top reason for not reporting being lack of consequences.

Nasher emphasised that she believed in restorative justice and teachable moments for those who are not well-informed or who have a momentary lapse in judgement. However, in the case of Seldowitz, he repeatedly returned to the food vendor and is well-educated and knowledgeable about the Middle East.

"I'm not advocating for harsh penalties in general. But he got a deal that nobody else would have gotten," said Nasher. "It was a traumatic experience for that individual."

"He is very much part of the fabric of America. I hope he can find new faith in what America is supposed to be," she added.