New Jersey Democratic Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy struggled to clearly state whether Iran should be considered an adversary to the United States or if Israel is an ally. During a Tuesday interview on CNN's "The Situation Room," Hamawy repeatedly avoided direct answers when pressed by host Pamela Brown.
When asked about his views on Iran, Hamawy stated, "I see that we pushed them into a fight. And so, I think we both have to step back and say, is this helping either one of us?" Brown pressed him, reminding him that Iran has chanted "Death to America," but Hamawy responded, "We've been saying ‘Death to Iran’ for decades as well. And so, what we need to do is use diplomacy."
Brown also noted that Americans have been killed by Iran. Hamawy countered, "And we've killed a lot of them as well." He later referred to the Iranian government as a "dictatorship" and "authoritarian," but suggested that U.S. actions may have contributed to its radicalization.
Hamawy's responses drew criticism from Roz Rothstein, co-founder and CEO of StandWithUs, an international education organization that supports Israel. Rothstein stated, "Representative-elect Hamawy refused to acknowledge a basic factual and moral reality. Iran's oppressive regime has made itself the enemy of both the United States and its own people. American officials who don't understand that should have no role in our country's foreign policy decisions."
Hamawy's difficulty in addressing the questions drew parallels to Michigan Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed, who also declined to identify Israel or Iran as the greater threat to America during a past debate.
Hamawy won his House seat despite previous scrutiny over his volunteer work with the Benevolence International Foundation, which federal authorities later identified as providing support to al-Qaeda. He also faced scrutiny for a past trip with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, known as the "Blind Sheikh."