WASHINGTON — New Jersey Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy repeatedly declined to describe Iran as an “adversary,” instead blaming the Trump administration for escalating tensions with the Islamic Republic and pushing it toward war.
Hamawy, a Democrat and former combat surgeon who faced scrutiny during his campaign over past interactions with radical Islamic figures, called for an end to the conflict involving Iran.
“We pushed them into a fight. And so I think we both have to step back and say, ‘Is this helping either one of us?’” Hamawy told CNN when asked whether Tehran should be considered an adversary.
When pressed on the question, he responded, “We’re making adversaries when we should be making friends.”
CNN anchor Pamela Brown noted that Iranians have chanted “Death to America” and killed Americans for decades. Hamawy, however, dismissed those concerns.
“We’ve been saying death to Iran for decades as well,” he replied. “And so what we need to do is use diplomacy.”
“We’ve killed a lot of them as well.”
Hamawy easily won last week’s election to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, becoming the first Muslim from New Jersey elected to Congress.
The Garden State Democrat also accused Israel of pushing the United States into war with Iran when asked whether the Jewish state is an American ally.
His answers echoed those of Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed, a Michigan Democrat who declined during a debate last month to say whether Israel or Iran posed the greater threat to the United States. El-Sayed was debating Republican Mike Rogers.
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Hamawy’s past affiliations with individuals and organizations linked to radicalism drew scrutiny during the campaign.
In 1994, the trained plastic surgeon interned with the Benevolence International Foundation in Bosnia. The now-defunct organization was described in the 9/11 Commission Report as having an “impressive array of offices [that] covertly provided financial and other support for terrorist activities.”
During a later raid on the foundation’s offices, authorities discovered letters from al-Qaeda leaders, weapons, a photograph of Osama bin Laden, documents concerning al-Qaeda operations and other materials. Investigators believed the facilities had been used by the terrorist group as a “base for operations in Europe.”
Hamawy was never accused of wrongdoing involving the Benevolence International Foundation, though the circumstances attracted attention. His campaign also highlighted his service as a combat surgeon for the US military.
The incoming congressman also had ties to the late jihadist Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as “The Blind Sheik,” who died in 2017.
Abdel-Rahman was convicted on terrorism charges in the mid-1990s for allegedly advocating a “war of urban terrorism” against the United States. The case came during a crackdown following the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
Hamawy met Abdel-Rahman in the early 1990s, and the two later took a road trip to Detroit. According to a court transcript, Abdel-Rahman allegedly spoke about “conquering the land of the infidels.”
Hamawy testified for the defense during Abdel-Rahman’s trial, arguing that the remarks had been taken out of context.
More recently, Hamawy volunteered at a hospital in the beleaguered Gaza Strip in 2024. Israeli forces later discovered a tunnel network there that led to a Hamas leader.
