People from different walks of life hailed the arrest of Stuart Seldowitz, a former US government official, whose videos of harassing a Muslim vendor on a New York street went viral a few days ago.

The arrest of the 64-year-old Seldowitz is being seen as a victory of combined effort of social media users who relentlessly shared his videos on X and other platforms to bring it to the notice of authorities.

"This is what happens when the people work together," said Mohamad Safa, the Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs and Patriotic Vision (PVA), on X.

People from around the globe and local New Yorkers have been quick to come out and support the man subjected to harassment.

"New Yorkers are lining up at 83rd and 2nd to buy chicken over rice to support Mohamed Hussein, the street vendor who was harassed by Islamaphobic former US State Department official Stuart Seldowitz. You gotta love this city," said Lucky Tran, a science communicator based in New York.

Seldowitz, a former National Security Council official in the Obama administration, was taken into custody on Wednesday on charges of hate crime and stalking, second-degree aggravated harassment, stalking to cause fear and stalking at work.

The now viral recordings show the former official hurling verbal abuses at the vendor, showing off pro-Israel badges, disrespecting Islamic beliefs, the Quran, the Prophet Muhammad, chiding the man about his citizenship and calling him a "terrorist".

The incident came to light at a time when Tel Aviv faces increasing public scrutiny for using excessive force in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza where more than 14,000 people have been killed by brutal Israeli attacks since October 7.

Some people like Howard Beckett, a trade unionist, called Seldowitz’s arrest "a start." He hoped to "see Netanyahu in handcuffs for genocide" and said "the Hague must respond."

Seldowitz’s fate is set to be determined by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is looking into the videos, which were reportedly recorded a month back.

Some people questioned why it took the police several days to act.

"His racist hate of Muslims is visceral in those videos, but police only acted after the footage went viral. Wonder why," British author Onjali Rauf said.

Independent journalist Mariam Robly wondered if Seldowitz will ever face prosecution as he can easily get away by pleading insanity.

"In my opinion, he might be released on the grounds of being mentally ill. They have been getting away with it for 75 years," she said.

The recordings emerge amid what the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said is an “unprecedented” rise in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim incidents in the US.

In the early 2000s, Seldowitz worked as acting director for the National Security Council’s South Asia Directorate and worked as a senior political officer in the State Department’s Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs.

British-Iraqi musical artist and activist Lowkey hit out at Washington for employing Seldowitz in a position where he had a say in the US policy making.

"When you see this picture, you understand that Stuart Seldowitz's words were not only racist abuse but political policy too," he said, sharing a photo of Seldowitz at the UN.

People noted the drastic change in Seldowitz’s demeanour upon his arrest - a marked contrast from the arrogance he shows off in the viral videos.

"Look how pathetic he is, no longer the arrogant bigot…the cat got his tongue," wrote Palestinian-American journalist Jamal Dajani.