Adam Hamawy, a surgeon who became a hero of the pro-Palestine movement after treating patients in Gaza, is heading to Congress after winning a Democratic primary in southern New Jersey on Tuesday.Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an AFP interview after meetings at the White House and on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2024. DREW ANGERER via Getty ImagesHamawy won a crowded primary for New Jersey’s solidly blue 12th District, and is all but certain to be elected to Congress in November. Hamawy, who had the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other leading progressives, benefited from a divided field of more moderate candidates and $2 million in spending from American Priorities, a super PAC that backs pro-Palestinian candidates.The seat is open because of the retirement of progressive Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. Republicans and pro-Israel groups launched attacks on Hamawy, tying him to the so-called “Blind Sheikh” convicted in connection with the 1995 bombing of the World Trade Center and with a medical charity Hamawy volunteered with during the Bosnian genocide that was later accused of being a front for Al-Qaeda. Hamway downplayed both attacks, arguing his ties to the Sheikh were minimal, and noting the group he worked for was the object of praise from the international community at the time. Hamawy’s long record ― including a stint in the Army National Guard as a combat trauma surgeon, during which he saved the life of Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) after her helicopter was shot down in Iraq ― ultimately mattered more to voters in the district.While he was volunteering at a hospital in Gaza, Israel seized a nearby border crossing, trapping him and his colleagues in the hospital for more than a week. They were allowed to leave only after Duckworth intervened with then-President Joe Biden. Upon his return, he traveled to Congress to lobby for the end of what he viewed as a genocide, but found many members of Congress were uninterested in what he had to say.The experience, Hamway said, helped him decide to run for Congress. RelatedDemocratic PrimaryNew Jerseytammy duckworthAdam Hamawy