NYPD Investigating Halal Cart Harassment as Hate Crime

Islam Moustafa says his New York City halal cart on 83rd and 2nd Ave. has never experienced anything like the harassment leveled against it by former Obama National Security Council Director Stuart Seldowitz — videos of which went viral on Tuesday.

“We’ve been here since the [2nd Ave. Q train] opened, about seven years ago. I don’t recall the cops being called to this place before,” Moustafa, a co-owner of the halal cart, tells Rolling Stone, adding that he has a meeting with the NYPD’s 19th precinct on Wednesday afternoon to discuss “a hate crime investigation.”

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed to Rolling Stone that the department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. On Wednesday, Seldowitz was arrested, with authorities telling the press that the former government official faces charges related to stalking and aggravated harassment. According to an ABC affiliate in New York, “Seldowitz had nothing to say to reporters as he was walked out of the 19th Precinct in handcuffs.”

The videos of the abuse show Seldowitz berating the cart’s employees, asking them if they had raped their “daughter like Mohammed did,” threatening them with deportation, and telling them that “if we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, it wasn’t enough.”

“The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents,” Seldowitz told the employee. “Does your father like his fingernails? They will take them out one-by-one,” he added.

The videos were filmed by one of the cart’s employees, who told The Daily Mail that his encounters with Seldowitz began in early November. Moustafa tells Rolling Stone the vendor was “scared to share” the video but passed it along to a friend who posted it online. According to the user who posted the video, the NYPD had initially stated that there was nothing they could do about Seldowitz’ harassment, as it was an issue of free speech. Seldowitz could not immediately be reached for comment.

“The workers feel a little scared, especially after they learned that he was a government official,” Moustafa added. “They feel that he’s going to use his status to hurt them somehow.”

Seldowitz, who once worked in the U.S. State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs, confirmed to The Daily Beast that he was the man depicted in the videos. Following his departure from government work, he was hired by Gotham Government Relations, a New York-based lobbying firm that cut ties with Seldowitz after the videos went viral on Tuesday.

Moustafa tells Rolling Stone that the employee was recovering from his encounters with Seldowitz. “He’s a little scared right now, he was unable to smile to customers after what happened … Hopefully he’s going to move on, and it’s an individual instance. We’re a bit shocked that it came from an ex-government official with that much status, but hopefully he’s going to pay for his mistakes.”

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