NYC street cart vendor, 24, harassed by ex Obama adviser Stuart Seldowitz in viral videos insists he does NOT support Hamas and did nothing to prompt racist rants that have been going on for two WEEKS
The New York City street cart vendor who was racially harassed by former Obama adviser Stuart Seldowitz in a series of vicious rants has spoken out for the first time to share his story with DailyMail.com, insisting he did nothing to stop the abuse to provoke and now is afraid to go to work.
Mohammad, 24, did not want to give his full name during his interview on Wednesday morning.
He described how 64-year-old Seldowitz began randomly harassing him two weeks ago, asking where he was from and then berating him about the war with Hamas in Israel and Gaza.
Now he is afraid to go to work or “fight” with a man who has so many political connections.
Mohammad, 24, did not want to give his full name during his interview on Wednesday morning. He told DailyMail.com that he was just trying to make a living when Seldowitz approached him two weeks ago asking where he was from
Stuart Seldowitz, 64, apologized last night after the videos went viral. He threatened to report the young seller to the immigration authorities and labeled him a ‘terrorist’.
Seldowitz was filmed three times berating Mohammad who works in a truck just blocks from where Seldowitz lives
New York City Councilwoman Julie Menin, the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, announced that he was under investigation by the 19th District
Seldowitz apologized last night, telling City and State in an interview that he regretted what he said in the “heat of the moment.”
Speaking in Arabic while his boss was translating, Mohammad told DailyMail.com he feels “hurt.”
‘He is afraid. He is just a worker, now he is fighting someone with connections and a lot of power,” said Imam Mustafa, the company’s owner.
Mohammad said the incidents started randomly on November 7.
When DailyMail.com visited the cart on Wednesday, there were no pro-Palestinian flags or posters.
The owners insist they have never displayed any kind of political posters or messages and that they only want to ‘serve the community’.
‘We’ve been here for years and haven’t had any problems with anyone. We’ve been here since the (Q) train opened about six or seven years, and we’ve had zero problems.
‘Oour staff has a criminal record, no problem with anyone, wWe are all well educated,” he said.
Seldowitz, he said, randomly walked up to him and started asking him where he was from.
Mohammad, 24, said he did nothing to provoke the attacks and is now afraid
The street cart in Yorkville on Manhattan’s Upper East Side serves halal food
Cart owner Islam Mustafa, left in black, told DailyMail.com how Seldowitz started harassing his staff a week ago. He is shown with Ahmed Mohian (right), his business partner
He then started berating him about the war and accusing him of supporting Hamas.
A customer called the NYPD, but business owners say the problem was largely ignored.
Now, after an outpouring of public outrage and support for Mohammad, the NYPD is investigating.
“We are extremely angry because of the offensive vocabulary he used. It’s a shame it happened.
‘We have no hatred towards anyone. We have full respect for all religions and ideologies, we are not here to fuel those hate speeches. How can a government official say something like that?’ Mustafa, the business owner, added.
In one video, he threatened Mohammad: “I will send your photo to my friends in immigration. The Mukhabarat in Egypt will get your parents. Does your dad like his fingernails? He will take them out one by one.”
In one of his most appalling remarks, he said: “If we had killed 4,000 Palestinian children, that wouldn’t be enough.”
Seldowitz apologized last night, telling City and State that he regretted the incident and “shouldn’t have brought up the religious aspect.”
It is unclear exactly what scope Seldowitz served during the Obama administration.
His professional biographies have now been scrubbed from the internet, as have those of his children.
One posted online on the Gotham Government Relations website described him as a former deputy and Middle East adviser to President Obama.
Gotham has now severed all ties with Seldowitz and is offering the seller free assistance in filing a lawsuit against him.
“Gotham Government Relations has terminated all ties with Stuart Seldowitz.
The original video, which lasts more than two minutes, shows Seldowitz speaking to a halal cart vendor, using profanities for Egyptians and then saying that intelligence agents in Egypt will “get your parents.”
The government lobbying firm Seldowitz worked with has now severed ties and is offering the street cart vendor to file a lawsuit against him.