New York, New York - Stuart Seldowitz, a former high-ranking US State Department official, was arrested and charged with hate crimes Wednesday after videos of him abusing a halal street vendor in Manhattan went viral.

Seldowitz, who worked at the State Department's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs before taking moving to the National Security Council under the Obama administration, was filmed harassing the vendor with Islamophobic, racist, and anti-Palestinian comments over multiple encounters spanning weeks.

In one clip, the 64-year-old asks Mohamed Hussein, the owner of Adam Halal Food Cart: "Did you rape your daughter like [the Prophet] Muhammad did?"

Hussein, who comes from Egypt, is also threatened with deportation back to his home country, where Seldowitz says the country's notorious secret service will "get your parents."

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A particularly vile exchange captured on camera features the ex-diplomat accusing the vendor of supporting Hamas, the Islamic militant organization behind the October 7 attack on Israel.

Referring to the month-long Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza, he continues: "If we killed 4,000 Palestinian kids, you know what? It wasn't enough."

On Wednesday, videos posted to social media showed Seldowitz being led away by NYPD officers. Aside from hate crimes, he has also been charged with aggravated assault and stalking.

Initially, Seldowitz had defended himself, telling The Daily Beast that he didn't consider himself "an Islamophobic guy."

His former employers, the lobbying firm Gotham Government Relation, confirmed it had cut all ties and offered to represent Hussein pro bono in any potential lawsuit.

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Seldowitz seems to have a history of Islamophobic and anti-Arab attitudes, which were on full display in a recent interview with writer and professor Amy Peikoff. In an excerpt posted to X by Intercept reporter Prem Thakker, the former national security adviser reminisces: "We used to joke when I was in the State Department that the Middle East... is quickly entering the 14th century."

More videos unearthed also show Seldowitz harassing a Russian diplomat in New York, calling him a criminal and his female colleague a "whore."