9/11 victim’s brother slams Democratic nominees with terror ties in NJ, NY
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A man whose life has been deeply affected by radical Islamic terrorism is outraged that those he claims hold extremist beliefs are winning Democratic Party elections at alarming rates.
Don Arias is currently the Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s blue-leaning 12th Congressional District. “When it comes to terrorist sympathizers, I don’t take too kindly to fools, and this guy is pale,” Adam said of Hamawy.
Arias is an Air Force veteran and former New York City firefighter who witnessed the massive destruction of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His brother, who worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower, died in the September 11 terrorist attacks that changed the course of American history.
Arias spoke with her brother Adam after the first plane crashed into the North Tower on the morning of the attack. The man told him of the chaos as helpless victims jumped from the burning skyscraper that once anchored the city’s skyline.
Don Arias, a former firefighter and Air Force veteran who now advocates for families of 9/11 victims, in his dress blue uniform. (Courtesy: Don Arias)
AOC-SUPPORTED DEM CONNECTED WITH TWO TOWERS BOMBING TERRORISTS
“This haunted me for many years,” he told Fox News Digital. Arias has continued to advocate for the families of 9/11 victims ever since.
Hamawy is an experienced plastic surgeon who currently operates his own private practice in New Jersey. Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, who left office on June 2, won a crowded Democratic primary to replace D.N.J.
He emerged victorious despite heavy baggage, including his ties to radical Islamist terrorism.
1993 WTC BOMBING VICTIM’S SON SAYS NJ DEMOCRATS’ PRIMARY WINNER WAS ‘DISAPPOINTED’ DUE TO TERRORISM TIES
In his past, Hamawy was close to the notorious terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, better known as the “Blind Sheikh,” who masterminded the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and died in federal prison in 2017.
Dr. Adam Hamawy speaks during an interview in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2024, following meetings at the White House and Capitol Hill. He recently returned to the United States after volunteering in Gaza. (Drew Angerer/AFP)
The two met in 1991, when Hamawy was a young adult, and soon Hamawy began accompanying Abdel-Rahman to mosques. That same year, Hamawy, the sheikh and others took a 13-hour drive from Abdel-Rahman’s home in New Jersey to a conference in Detroit titled “Towards a Global Islamic Economy.”
The congress candidate testified on behalf of the defense in the sheikh’s trial.
While Arias says Hamawy may have some positive credentials (he’s a doctor and a veteran), he doesn’t trust the candidate at all.
MIKE POMPEO: THE THREAT FROM RADICAL ISLAM IS NOW AT OUR DOORS. BIDEN REVIEWED THIS. TRUMP MUST TAKE ACTION
Arias told Fox New Digital: “But when she befriends the Blind Sheik and has been his translator for several years, when she testifies on his behalf in court saying what a great guy he is, when she spends so much time with this guy and then says she’s never heard him say anything about jihad, I have to question her veracity. I mean, that doesn’t ring true.”
Don Arias, second from left, poses for a photo with NYFD firefighters. (Courtesy: Don Arias)
“Show me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are,” he continued. “And if this Hamawy guy tries to forget all this – he wants him to go down the memory hole and say, ‘oh, I was experienced, you know, I did good things’ – I won’t forget and I don’t think people should forget.“
In 1994, Hamawy also participated in what he calls a humanitarian aid mission to Bosnia. There he worked with the International Philanthropic Foundation (BIF). In the post-9/11 fight against terrorism, BIF was designated as a financier of terrorism by the US government due to its ties to Al Qaeda.
Relative of 9/11 Firefighter CALLED MAMDANI FOR NOT CONDEMNING THE ‘GLOBALIZE INTIFADA’ SLOGAN
““We’re not educating voters, and voters aren’t doing the necessary research on their candidates, because I think if they knew that this guy had these kinds of connections, if there was awareness at the highest level that this guy had these kinds of connections… they wouldn’t vote for him, and I think people need to bring that to the forefront.”
Plastic surgeon turned House candidate Adam Hisham Hamawy is interviewed about his intention to go on a Hamas-led humanitarian mission to Gaza on April 24, 2024, in New York. ((Photo: Islam Doğru/Anatolia, via Getty Images))
Additionally, a socialist candidate who once argued that the United States deserved 9/11 is likely to win a seat in the New York State Senate.
Aber Kawas is the Muslim daughter of illegal aliens and the current Democratic candidate for New York State Senate District 12. He was endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and won several federal and state Democratic primaries in the city last Tuesday as part of a far-left sweep.
DAVID MARCUS: THE OLD SCHOOL CONTINUES AS THE FAR LEFT TAKES CONTROL OF NEW YORK
“The system of capitalism, racism, and white supremacy… and Islamophobia have all been used to colonize lands, to take resources from other people, and so it’s a long trajectory, and we’re just seeing manifestations of that continuation on 9/11,” he said in the Asian American Writers Association’s 2017 podcast “Islamophobia beyond 9/11 with Aber Kawas.”
“I find the idea that we should apologize for a terrorist attack by a few individuals and then have no apology or reparations for genocides and slavery to be reprehensible,” he said.
Aber Kawas, Director of Youth Activities for the Arab-American Association of New York, speaks at a rally at Columbus Circle protesting proposals to restrict Muslim entry into the United States. (Andy Katz/Corbis)
Arias also condemned these comments.
Morning Glory: DEMOCRATS CLIFF DIVE FROM THE FAR LEFT EDGE OF AMERICAN POLITICS
“For him to minimize 9/11…it’s just like saying ‘some people had some planes,’ you know, that’s not a far-fetched thing at all,” he told Fox News Digital by phone. “So, when I look at someone like Kawas, when I look at someone like Mamdani, I don’t see an American. I mean, when you look at it superficially, you see a communist, you see a radical, and—forgive me for saying this—I see a Nazi.”
He later criticized the American education system, which he saw as a pipeline to far-left activism rather than real learning. According to Arias, voters who vote for candidates like Hamawy and Kawas are raised in schools and higher education to have radical beliefs.
“It’s very insidious and very seductive to the young and foolish,” he said. “The people who voted for these people are young people, idiots and brainwashed people.”
Arias continued: “I don’t know what happens to a person who grows up to hate his own country, but I blame the universities and schools for that.” “It’s an indictment of our education system because almost all of them are very young, very misinformed, and Islamist-Nazis at this point.”
Don Arias speaks at an event as part of his work as an advocate for 9/11 families on September 11, 2025. (Courtesy: Don Arias)
Kawas added that Zionism, Judaism and Israel are associated with “white supremacy” for people, and in their minds, the alleged “white supremacy” should be “degraded”.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
He also described socialism as a “luxury faith” and said its supporters were mostly young, wealthy or upper-middle-class people.
“These guys wander around, so they can have luxurious beliefs, have these spiritual conversations about humanity. They’re so out of touch.”
Hamawy’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. And Kawas refused to answer the questions, instead pointing to account X.
