Adam Hamawy wins New Jersey Democratic primary
If elected, Hamawy will become first US Congress member with firsthand experience of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza
NEW JERSEY, United States (MNTV) – – Adam Hamawy, who won Democratic primary for an open seat in the United States House of Representatives, will become the first US Congress member with firsthand experience of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza if he is elected, reports Al Jazeera.
The Egyptian-born politician is a plastic surgeon, army veteran and conflict-zone medical worker doctor. He is on track to represent New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, a Democratic stronghold. He will face off with Republican Gregg Mele on November 3 in the midterm elections.
Recounting his experience travelling to Washington, DC, following his medical mission to the Palestinian enclave in 2024, he told Al Jazeera: ““[I was] talking to lawmakers and our representatives as a witness to say: This is happening there,” Hamawy recounted. “This is real. This isn’t fake news. This isn’t just on social media. I’ve experienced it, and this is what I saw in my own eyes.”
He said a handful of lawmakers spoke out against the war, citing his testimony. Others expressed private condemnation but did nothing publicly, and some closed their doors to any meeting with him.
“This is what prompted me to run,” he said. “We need more [elected officials] that are brave, more that will actually act upon what we know is wrong.”
As a representative, Hamawy hopes he can help steer the House to confront Israel’s genocidal war and the US role in it. “I felt I had to go to Washington to fix this myself.”
Congress plays a big role in the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, as it is tasked with approving the billions of dollars in military aid the US provides annually to Israel. It also wields the authority to pass legislation to block arms transfers.
But he described his experience in Gaza as particularly revelatory, given the US backing for Israel’s war. He remembers seeing patient after patient maimed by Israeli attacks.
“By going there and actually living it, by taking care of a child who’s come and had his arm blown off and lost his entire family, [you’re not] able to turn it off, because you have to operate on them and see them the next day,” he said. “And then you see someone else and do this consistently.”
The experience involves “not being able to sleep, because you’re being bombed, like hour after hour, and have drones over your head 24/7. And you know that, at any point of time, something’s gonna happen,” he said. “You have really no control of your life at all.”
Hamawy’s political rise has been buoyed by several high-profile endorsements, including from Senator Tammy Duckworth, who credits the former US Army combat surgeon with saving her life when her Black Hawk helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004.
Duckworth advocated for Hamawy when his medical mission was temporarily blocked by Israel from exiting Gaza in 2024.
He also gained a key endorsement in May from Senator Bernie Sanders.
In his victory speech on Tuesday night, Hamawy said his win signalled a new “era” in US politics.
“Let me be absolutely clear with you all and everyone watching today: There was once a time when this may have worked, where racist and anti-Muslim attacks could swing an election,” he said. “That era of American politics is over.”
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