The race to replace retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) in New Jersey’s 12th’s district is crowded, but one candidate recently earned the support of the newly-launched pro-Palestine Super PAC American Priorities.
That’s Dr. Adam Hamawy, a combat surgeon and Iraq War veteran, who saved Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) when a grenade hit her helicopter. Over the last 30 years, Hamawy has volunteered in various war zones, which includes medical missions to Gaza in 2024 and 2025. After Israel seized the Rafah Crossing, he was trapped with his colleagues, but refused to leave until everyone was guaranteed safe passage.
“The campaign’s new ad introduces Dr. Adam Hamawy—a physician, decorated veteran, and political outsider who has dedicated his life to fighting for those most in need—to likely Democratic primary voters across NJ-12,” said the group in a statement. “American Priorities views Dr. Hamawy as the strongest possible champion for NJ-12 families in Congress.”
There are currently 14 candidates running for the seat, including former New Jersey Working Families Party director Sue Altman and East Brunswick Mayor Brad Cohen. So far, Hamawy is the best-funded of the group, raising nearly $550,000 in the first quarter.
Hamawy is endorsed by Sen. Duckworth, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and former House member Jamaal Bowman.
Mondoweiss U.S. correspondent spoke to Hamawy about his campaign, what compelled him to run, and how his time in war zones has informed his politics.
What compelled you to run for office?
I’m an outsider from politics. I’ve worked as a surgeon here in New Jersey all my life, served in the army, and since getting out, have been using my skills to volunteer in disaster zones all over the world.
So I’ve been doing this for a while, and over the last two years, I’ve been to Gaza twice and the West Bank. What I witnessed there really compelled me to get more involved. I’ve seen war before; I’ve been to Iraq. I know the horrors of war, but what I witnessed was a genocide. I saw more children and civilians blown up than ever in my life. It was so horrible that when I came back, I felt it was my obligation to go to Congress and speak about what I had seen. These are American bombs that are being dropped. These are our taxpayer dollars that are being used.
What I witnessed [in Gaza] really compelled me to get more involved . . . I know the horrors of war, but what I witnessed was a genocide. I saw more children and civilians blown up than ever in my life. It was so horrible that when I came back, I felt it was my obligation to go to Congress and speak about what I had seen.
Then, as a community physician, I’ve been struggling every year just to take care of my patients here at home. I know the problems with the health insurance industry. I have to fight with them every day just to be able to get a CAT scan or to get a surgery approved. We’re told that we don’t have enough money for health care or Medicare for all. But I personally witnessed that we always have enough money for bombs.
When Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman announced her retirement, I felt I had to jump in. I’ve been working with her closely over the last two years and have stood have stood by her side at press conferences, was at the State of the Union with her last year, and she has been a great advocate of the people, never hesitating to speak about what’s right even if it’s against her own party, and this is the type of person that we’re lacking in Congress.
When I looked at this race, I was disappointed by the options that the voters were being presented with, and I felt I could offer something different based on my experience and my firsthand account of working with people every day, struggling with their problems and seeing how we are spending our resources over the last few decades.
Can you talk about the district? What does it look like and what do you believe people living there are looking for?
The district is in central New Jersey, and it’s one of the most diverse districts in America, basically. It’s about 55- 60% white, 20% black. 20% Asian. We have a large Latino community. There’s a diversity of religions. It is a very progressive blue district.
The people here really align with the values Bonnie’s represented and with my values. They are really tired of seeing politics-as-usual in Washington. Those policies have allowed people to struggle just to make a living every day, while politicians, billionaires, and corporations profit from their decisions.
You have made abolishing ICE a big part of your campaign. Can you talk about that fight?
ICE has not just been a problem over the last two years. ICE was formed in 2003 after 9/11. They haven’t made us safer, but they have been targeting and terrorizing black and brown communities this whole time. As a Muslim American, I’ve seen the effects of ICE for decades. They kidnapped people off the streets, and now we have men roaming around and killing people in broad daylight without any consequences.
We’ve spent $170 billion on ICE. Those billion dollars that are funding ICE could be going to help our communities, it could be going to actually create a fair immigration system that really allows people to enter the kind of the country in an orderly process through legal means, respecting human rights, civil liberties, and function better than the stormtroopers that we currently have roaming our streets.
You mention that you are a veteran. “I served in Iraq – the so-called war on terror was a failure,” you write on your campaign website. “The regime change wars are a failure. War serves no one, except for cowardly leaders and corrupt interests.”
Can you talk about how your time in Iraq informed your foreign policy positions?
I have seen the effects of war, not just on our country, but on the veterans. I joined the Army and the National Guard. I first joined the National Guard, before I was in the Army, to help pay for school. That’s what many Americans do to get the opportunities they need. They join the military and, in turn, they get educational opportunities.
Most of the politicians in Washington have not served, and none of their children have served. I’ve seen the broken bodies and the wounds. I have seen people killed in the name of making money for the war profiteers. I see the burdens these people carry when they come back home, the nightmares, they have to live ah through, and the burdens that their families have to go through. I have seen what it does to our communities.
Over the last 20 years, I have also seen that these wars have not made us any safer. They’ve created more hatred toward America. The U.S. is seen less and less as a democracy and more and more as a bully. I see the billions that are going into this Defense/war industry. The only thing the Trump administration got right was renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War, because that’s what it’s all about.
Most Americans don’t want war. They want to be able to put food on their table. They want to work and thrive. We could be using part of this trillion-dollar budget that is going to the Department of War to make our lives better here at home. That would be a better use of our resources.
This race is obviously not the only one where Israel and Palestine have factored in. Can you talk about the wider battle over these issues currently happening within the Democratic Party?
My campaign is rather unique in that I’m not just talking and getting this information secondhand; I’ve actually lived it.
I was in Gaza. I have witnessed our bombs and how our support has enabled the current genocide to be in place. That’s a unique voice. There aren’t many people who have actually seen it firsthand. Even most Israelis have not witnessed what I’ve seen.
This conversation really spans much longer than October 7, 2023. It’s not just the Democratic Party, but Americans who are starting to realize what we are supporting with Israel. This is not the democracy that we proclaim. If we can’t get our allies to support human rights, how can we ask our adversaries to respect them?
