From operating rooms in Khan Younis to the U.S. Congress, Democratic surgeon Adam Hamawy, an Egyptian-American, won New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District seat in the House of Representatives, defeating Republican Greg Myre and becoming the first Muslim to represent the state in Congress. Data from NBC News showed him receiving 70.2% of the vote against 28.3% for his opponent after about 93% of the expected vote had been counted. He will succeed retiring Democratic Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman.
In May 2024, Hamawy joined a volunteer medical mission organized by the Palestinian American Medical Association and the World Health Organization at the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis, where he performed 120 surgeries, more than half of them on children. When Israel closed the Rafah crossing shortly after the mission arrived, the doctors stayed for seven additional days, and Hamawy refused to leave until his colleagues arriving from Jordan, Egypt and Australia were also able to depart. He later told NPR that about 80% of the patients arriving at the hospital died because of shortages of medication, medical staff and resources.
“I have never seen anti-Muslim hatred so openly”
In his victory speech to supporters, Hamawy said: “I served this country and wore its military uniform. I served it in war and I served it in peace. I have never seen hatred against Muslims expressed with such openness, noise and acceptance as it is today.” He pledged to defend “every American abandoned by the establishment that has ruled Washington for so long” and ended his speech by saying, “Allahu Akbar” and “God bless the United States of America,” amid chants from those present.
Hamawy was born in Egypt, and his family moved to Old Bridge, New Jersey, when he was an infant. He works as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Princeton. For three decades, he has volunteered as a doctor in disaster and war zones, from Sudan and Syria to Lebanon, Türkiye and Jordan. He also served for eight years in the New Jersey National Guard, including nine months at the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, where he treated current Senator Tammy Duckworth, who says he saved her life after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq in 2004.
“Health care, not bombs”
Hamawy ran his campaign under the slogan “Health care, not bombs,” calling for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, action to address wealth inequality, and the redirection of military spending to the health sector. In June, he won a primary election featuring 13 candidates, with the support of Duckworth, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representatives Ro Khanna and Ilhan Omar.
Hamawy became one of four Democratic Muslims to win seats in the House of Representatives, alongside Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and André Carson, who retained their seats, according to Pakistan’s Sama TV.
Hamawy’s victory came on an election night in which Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress and Democrat Abdulrahman Sayed won a seat in the Michigan Senate, becoming the first Muslim to enter it.
Videos: Middle East Eye, Sama TV. Photo: Social media
