Top House Democrats are mostly avoiding questions about Adam Hamawy, the controversial Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, saying they are unfamiliar with his background, including his association with Omar Abdel-Rahman, the terrorist mastermind known as the Blind Sheikh, and his service with a nonprofit organization in Bosnia shuttered as an al-Qaida front group.

A small number of moderate Jewish Democrats have spoken out against Hamawy, expressing concerns about his potential elevation to the House, and frustration with what his and others’ rise signals about the state of the Democratic Party.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who congratulated Hamawy on his victory last week — as he traditionally does with most Democratic nominees — sidestepped multiple questions about him in an interview on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing” this weekend.

“I haven’t spoken to him, he’s going to have to speak for himself and address these allegations,” Jeffries said in response to a question about Hamawy’s testimony in defense of Abdel-Rahman, before criticizing the administration over the war in Iran and high gas prices.

Asked again, he criticized Republicans for their own controversial comments, and the administration over cost-of-living issues.

Though some Democrats and high-ranking Republicans have raised concerns about Hamawy’s fitness to serve on committees related to national security, Democrats poised to lead some of those committees told Jewish Insider they aren’t familiar with him.

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told JI he hadn’t been following Hamawy’s primary race and hadn’t yet spoken with him.

“I’d have to have a conversation with someone like Bonnie Watson Coleman or somebody that might know him, or tell me a little bit about it before I can say anything in that regard,” Meeks said, referring to the retiring congresswoman whom Hamawy is seeking to replace. “I don’t like to talk about somebody I don’t know, and I’ve not looked at his background or anything else of that nature.”

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) declined to comment last week, saying he did not know enough about Hamawy to discuss the situation.

Other Democrats, including Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), have expressed concerns about Hamawy and his election, and Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) joined them this week.

“I’m a simple guy, and want leaders that will help us fix this broken economy and keep Americans safe … and who don’t have Nazi tattoos or close ties with convicted terrorists. It’s really not too much to ask,” Landsman told JI.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) said when asked about Hamawy’s fitness to serve on national security-related committees, “We’ll cross those bridges when we get there.”

“I have concerns about his past associations, and we’ll measure him on what he does, if and when he gets here,” Schneider, a co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, told JI. “That was a decision the voters of New Jersey made. That’s how our democracy works.”

Hamawy’s campaign has insisted in statements that his “entire career and life have been defined by his patriotism and deep love of this country,” and described his testimony in defense of the Blind Sheikh as his “civic and legal duty,” carried out while Hamawy was a member of the Army.

“At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey — he saw him speak in religious settings in his early 20s. Dr. Hamawy condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred and terrorism — and he will always. Dr. Hamawy had no contact with this person after they were arrested.”

The campaign has dismissed criticisms of his involvement with Benevolence International, the organization closed down as an al-Qaida front years after he volunteered, as “desperate,” “absurd” and “gross and bigoted.” It has stated that he volunteered to provide medical assistance to victims of the Bosnian genocide, and that Benevolence International was approved at the time by the Bosnian mission to the United States and the United Nations.