Adam Hamawi: The American-Egyptian Doctor Opposing Israel Approaches Congress

SadaNews - The American doctor of Egyptian descent, Adam Hamawi, has won the Democratic Party's nomination in the party's primary elections for the 12th district in New Jersey for the U.S. Congress. Hamawi is known for his opposition to Israel and his volunteer work in Gaza during the genocide, having defeated Brad Cohen, who is supported by the Israeli lobby. Hamawi is likely to win in the predominantly Democratic district in the upcoming midterm elections scheduled for November.

Hamawi volunteered for humanitarian medical work in Gaza at the beginning of May 2024. Upon his arrival in the enclave, he and his fellow American and international doctors were besieged by Israel for several weeks, forcing him to perform surgeries in the Khan Younis Hospital in southern Gaza while the Israeli occupation was bombing the hospital.

During his siege and work in Gaza, he sent a message from under bombardment to former U.S. President Joe Biden, stating, "As a doctor, I cannot abandon my team members, and as a former soldier, I cannot leave my American colleagues behind." Hamawi, a former U.S. Army soldier who served in the Iraq War, described the Israeli targeting, saying, "I have never witnessed in my professional life such crimes and targeting of fellow doctors as I have in Gaza." At that time, he provided eyewitness testimony to the "Washington Post" and NPR.

It is noteworthy that Hamawi was born in Egypt and moved as an infant with his family to New Jersey, where he studied medicine, later serving as a military surgeon in the U.S. Army. He gained wide recognition during the Iraq War when he rescued current Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth after her helicopter was downed in Iraq in 2004.

Senator Duckworth intervened during Hamawi and his colleagues' siege in Gaza by pressuring the Biden administration and the Israeli and Egyptian governments to secure a safe exit corridor for him and his team, allowing them to leave the enclave at the end of May 2024.

The Israeli crimes that Hamawi witnessed in Gaza left a profound impact on him, and he was filled with frustration when he saw lawmakers' indifference to hearing the truth when he was invited to Congress to give live testimony about the catastrophic conditions in Gaza before senators.

He mentioned in his election campaign that this disregard by Congress members for his testimony about the conditions, as a doctor and eyewitness to the genocide committed by Israel in the enclave, was the main motivation for his entry into politics.

The British newspaper "The Guardian" quoted Hamawi as saying, "I can only describe what I saw as genocide, because I saw the corpses of the victims, and it was not an isolated event." He described to lawmakers in Washington that what is happening is "genocide funded by American money," adding that during his observations of bodies being transported to the hospital and the walls shaking, he realized that "he pays for all this with his tax dollars."

Hamawi's opportunity came when the current Democratic Congresswoman for New Jersey's 12th District, Bonnie Watson Coleman, announced her retirement in November 2025. He launched his campaign and transitioned within six months from an unknown candidate to the most likely contender for victory.

His campaign included calls for imposing sanctions on Israel, banning support for it, providing healthcare for all, and abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He also announced his refusal to support Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer.

"The Guardian" reported that Hamawi is achieving a historic milestone in New Jersey, as he is likely to win and become the first Muslim legislator to represent the state at a national level.