Lobbying firm cuts ties with former Obama adviser over anti-Palestinian comments

Gotham Government Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm, has reportedly cut ties with a former Obama administration adviser after a video surfaced of him making anti-Palestinian remarks. 

“Gotham Government Relations has ended all affiliation with Stuart Seldowitz, An individual who hasn’t contributed to our work in years,” the lobbying firm said on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. 

A series of videos that surfaced online Tuesday purported to show Seldowitz harassing a New York City food vendor and hurling a slew of anti-Palestine comments and insults at the unidentified vendor.

In one of the videos, Seldowitz appears to call him a “terrorist,” and makes other claims about the vendor and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Gotham Government Relations condemned Seldowitz's comments, calling them "racist."

“The video of his actions is vile, racist, and beneath the dignity of the standards we practice at our firm,” they said.

Seldowitz served as the Acting Director for the National Security Council South Asia Directorate under the Obama administration, according to his Gotham Government Relations bio. He was hired by the lobbying firm last year as its Foreign Affairs chair, according to a news release.

His comments come amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which has led to a spike in anti-semitism and Islamophobia in the U.S.