{"id":1990,"date":"2026-06-15T04:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T04:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1990"},"modified":"2026-06-15T04:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T04:09:12","slug":"democrats-rally-behind-partys-n-j-congressional-nominee-with-ties-to-blind-sheikh-terrorist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1990","title":{"rendered":"Democrats rally behind party\u2019s N.J. congressional nominee with ties to \u2018Blind Sheikh\u2019 terrorist"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Congressional Democrats are throwing their support behind Adam Hamawy, their party\u2019s nominee in New Jersey\u2019s 12th Congressional District, despite his vouching in court for the good character of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the \u201cBlind Sheikh,\u201d who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.<\/p>\n

Read more New York\u2019s \u201cnon-gestating parent\u201d label shows ideology trumps reality<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy, a plastic surgeon practicing near Princeton, was close to Abdel-Rahman around the time of the bombing, which killed six people, including a New Jersey resident, and injured more than 1,000 others.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy testified as a character witness for Abdel-Rahman in his 1995 trial.<\/p>\n

Now, as the Democratic nominee to succeed retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, he is facing questions about his character \u2014 but not from a parade of House Democrats ready to welcome him to the halls of Congress.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy\u2019s website lists 21 endorsements, including from 14 Democratic and allied lawmakers, mostly from the party\u2019s liberal and socialist wings. They include Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Ro Khanna of California.<\/p>\n

Others are voicing support and dismissing Mr. Hamawy\u2019s friendship with the Blind Sheikh.<\/p>\n

Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey, a former National Security Council staffer, gave Mr. Hamawy his full support. He told The Washington Times that Mr. Hamawy had earned his support through his U.S. military service.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur military vetted him. Our military does all sorts of tests and efforts to try to look into the background of the people that serve in our forces. So, I support our troops,\u201d Mr. Kim said when asked about Mr. Hamawy\u2019s connection to the Blind Sheikh.<\/p>\n

Pressed further, Mr. Kim said, \u201cHe has served our country. And if there was some concern about him, I\u2019m sure our military would have been able to find that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy served as a general surgeon and a flight surgeon in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Iraq War. He did a nine-month stint in Baghdad at the 31st Combat Support Hospital, where he saved Ms. Duckworth\u2019s life after a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Black Hawk helicopter and she lost both her legs in the explosion.<\/p>\n

Rep. Herb Conaway of New Jersey said Mr. Hamawy was just a \u201ckid\u201d in his 20s when he palled around with Abdel-Rahman.<\/p>\n

Rep. Analilia Mejia of New Jersey, a new member of Congress\u2019 far-left \u201cSquad,\u201d said she saw herself in Mr. Hamawy\u2019s ability to connect with voters.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing across not only New Jersey, in his district, in my own district, across the country are folks wanting \u2014 regular voters wanting to vote for people who feel authentic, who are brave enough to speak their personal truth, that are able to express distaste around or opposition to the conditions that we are seeing in Gaza, in the West Bank, and not slip into us-versus-them othering antisemitism, et cetera. I think that\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans, however, balk at Mr. Hamawy\u2019s association with the terrorist mastermind, regardless of how much time has passed.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump says war-ending deal with Iran reached<\/a><\/p>\n

President Trump said the Democratic nomination of Mr. Hamawy was \u201cterrible,\u201d even if he is trying to walk back his relationship with Abdel-Rahman.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow he\u2019s trying to sort of say, \u2019Yeah, I sort of knew him.\u2019 He didn\u2019t sort of know him. They were very good friends,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cYou go back and look at what happened during that period of time. He was a witness at the trial for him. He was a positive witness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy\u2019s supporters in Congress dismissed Mr. Trump\u2019s criticism.<\/p>\n

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez called it \u201cawful attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Khanna said: \u201cThe president should be focused on bigger things, like trying to end the mess he\u2019s created in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy first met Abdel-Rahman at a New Jersey middle school forum in 1991 and thereafter began accompanying him to events.<\/p>\n

On the stand, under cross-examination by prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, Mr. Hamawy acknowledged that Abdel-Rahman \u201calways talked about\u201d jihad.<\/p>\n

Still, Mr. Hamawy\u2019s relationship with Abdel-Rahman deepened over time. They once took a road trip together to Detroit, where Mr. Hamawy served as the sheikh\u2019s translator at a conference at which Abdel-Rahman denied any role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Mr. Hamawy was untruthful on the stand. When defense attorney Lynne Stewart asked him to describe the Detroit conference headlined by Abdel-Rahman, Mr. Hamawy called it an economics event. However, a transcript of the conference revealed it to be a gathering of jihadi leaders at which Abdel-Rahman\u2019s speaking topic was \u201cThe Best Way of Supporting Jihad,\u201d and his opening sentence declared jihad \u201cthe pinnacle of Islam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investigators have reported that Mr. Hamawy subsequently worked with the Benevolence International Foundation, an organization that was shut down after it was discovered to be an al Qaeda front, according to The Star-Ledger.<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy\u2019s campaign called the scrutiny \u201cguilt by association\u201d and accused the candidate\u2019s detractors of unfairly shaming him. The campaign highlighted his more than 20 years of military service, during which he attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, has not addressed Mr. Hamawy\u2019s ties to the Blind Sheikh, but he celebrated his primary win on June 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to @HamawyForNJ on a hard-fought victory tonight,\u201d Mr. Jeffries wrote on social media. \u201cWelcome to the growing House Democratic Doctors\u2019 Caucus! Together there is much work to do to lower the high cost of living and fix our broken healthcare system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Hamawy faces Republican Gregg Mele, a lawyer and finance expert, as well as several independent candidates in the Nov. 3 election.<\/p>\n

Read more Patriotism, not politics: UFC fans tout love of sport, country at Freedom 250 events<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congressional Democrats are throwing their support behind Adam Hamawy, their party’s nominee in the state’s 12th Congressional District, despite his vouching in court for the good character of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” convicted in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,7],"tags":[1370,1368,1369],"class_list":["post-1990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-adam-hamawy","tag-omar-abdel-rahman","tag-world-trade-center"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocrats rally behind party\u2019s N.J. congressional nominee with ties to \u2018Blind Sheikh\u2019 terrorist - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=1990\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democrats rally behind party\u2019s N.J. congressional nominee with ties to \u2018Blind Sheikh\u2019 terrorist - 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