David Horowitz Freedom Center
 | |
| Founded | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Founder | David Horowitz Peter Collier |
| Type | Conservative think-tank |
| 95-4194642 | |
| Focus | Media |
| Location |
|
| Coordinates | 34°09′05″N 118°27′16″W / 34.1514°N 118.4544°W |
Area served | United States |
| Product | FrontPage Magazine |
Key people | David Horowitz, Founder & CEO Peter Collier, Vice President of Publications Michael Finch, President |
Revenue (2013) | $7,095,015[2] |
| Website | www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org |
Formerly called | Center for the Study of Popular Culture |
The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative[3][4][5] foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was established with funding from groups including the John M. Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Scaife Foundation. It runs several websites and blogs, including FrontPage Magazine, Students for Academic Freedom and Jihad Watch. Both it and its Jihad Watch blog have been described as Islamophobic.[6][7][8]
Mission and budget
The original intention of the CSPC was to establish a foothold in Hollywood, California. It was to serve as a platform for conservative speakers and debates between conservative and liberal speakers.
In 2003 Horowitz expanded the scope of the CSPC to include monitoring what CSPC views as an ingrained hostility towards conservative scholarship and ideas within academia. He established Students for Academic Freedom (SAF) to further that goal.
DHFC is a 501(c)(3) charity. In 2005 it had revenues of $4.9 million, expenses of $4.0 million, 8.4% of which was $336,000 compensation for David Horowitz.[1] For 2008 the DHFC reported on IRS Form 990 revenues of $5,466,103 and expenses of $5,994,547 with total compensation to David Horowitz of $480,162 and to vice-president Peter Collier of $228,744.[9]
Programs
The Center has the following ongoing programs.[10]
- FrontPage Magazine[11] – a political website edited by Horowitz with a focus is on issues pertaining to foreign policy, war, and terrorism.
- TruthRevolt – a news website edited by Mark Tapson[12] whose mission is "to expose the leftist news media and to hold them accountable for their hypocrisy and bias."[13]
- Discover the Networks[14] – a database of alleged left-wing agendas, activists and groups. After two years of development, went online in February 2005, with a staff of two at a cost of about $500,000.[15]
- Students for Academic Freedom[16] – addresses issues of alleged liberal bias in American universities.
- Wednesday Morning Club – events with speakers ranging from former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Victor Davis Hanson, Wafa Sultan, General Georges Sada, Judge Charles W. Pickering, Dennis Prager, Shelby Steele, Melanie Morgan, Dinesh D'Souza, Dore Gold, Bruce Herschensohn, John O'Sullivan, George W. Bush (1999), Dick Cheney, Robert Bork, Representatives Tom DeLay and Henry Hyde, Senators Trent Lott, Bill Frist and Joseph Lieberman, Christopher Hitchens, Bill Kristol, Fred Barnes and George Will.[17]
- Jihad Watch (formerly Dhimmi Watch) – a blog run by blogger Robert Spencer[18][19][20][21][22] which has been described as one of the main homes of the Counter-jihad movement on the internet.[23]
- The Individual Rights Foundation[24] – an organization of lawyers to fight "speech codes" and "political correctness" on campuses and elsewhere. Participated as an amicus curiae in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, the successful defense of the Boy Scouts of America against the ACLU in the Supreme Court.[25][26]
- Restoration Weekend – an annual conservative political activism conference and fundraising/networking event.
Heterodoxy was a news magazine published in a tabloid format by the center, edited by David Horowitz and Peter Collier. Its focus was said[by whom?] to be on exposing the excesses of "political correctness" on college and university campuses across the United States.[27]
Funding activities
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016) |
Between July 2000 and February 2006, the center (under its old name) was the sponsor of 25 trips by United States senators and representatives, all Republicans, to six different events. Total expenditures were about $43,000.[28]
In 2014–2015, Horowitz provided $250,000 in funding to the Dutch right-wing nationalist Geert Wilders's Party for Freedom, possibly violating U.S. tax law.[29][30][31]
Criticism
| Part of a series on |
| Islamophobia |
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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has described the Center as a far-right organization[32] and anti-Muslim hate group.[33][34] According to Horowitz, the SPLC's designation of his conservative think tank as a hate group resulted in his Freedom Center's donation processing system being blocked by Visa and Mastercard,[35] in which he plans to "fight back" and "push for an investigation" against the SPLC and Visa and Mastercard.[36]
Chip Berlet, writing for the SPLC, accused Horowitz of blaming slavery on "black Africans ... abetted by dark-skinned Arabs" and of "attack[ing] minority 'demands for special treatment' as 'only necessary because some blacks can't seem to locate the ladder of opportunity within reach of others,' rejecting the idea that they could be the victims of lingering racism."[37] Responding with an open letter to Morris Dees, president of the SPLC, Horowitz stated that his reminder that the slaves transported to America were bought from African and Arab slavers was a response to demands that only whites pay blacks reparations, not to hold Africans and Arabs solely responsible for slavery, and that the statement that he had denied lingering racism was "a calculated and carefully constructed lie." The letter said that Berlet's work was "so tendentious, so filled with transparent misrepresentations and smears that if you continue to post the report you will create for your Southern Poverty Law Center a well-earned reputation as a hate group itself."[38] The SPLC replied that they stood by the accuracy of the report,[39] and subsequent critical pieces on Berlet and the SPLC have been featured on Horowitz's website and personal blog.[40][41]
In a 2011 report, the Center for American Progress cited Horowitz as a prominent figure instrumental in demonizing Islam and spreading fear about an Islamic takeover of Western society.[42] Horowitz responded, saying that the Center had "joined the Muslim Brotherhood".[43]
The Anti-Defamation League wrote that Horowitz sponsors a college campus project that promotes anti-Muslim views and arranges events with anti-Muslim activists.[44] The DHFC was also a sponsor of the 3 May 2015 Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest in Garland, Texas,[45] where two Muslim terrorist attackers were shot and killed by a school security guard.[46]
References
- ^ a b "Charity Navigator Rating – The David Horowitz Freedom Center". Charitynavigator.org. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Organizational Profile – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
- ^ Maureen Ryan. The Other Side of Grief: The Home Front and the Aftermath in American Narratives of the Vietnam (Culture, Politics, and the Cold War Culture, Politics, and the conservative David Horowitz Freedom Center). Univ. of Massachusetts Press. p. 213.
- ^ Asma Khalid (October 20, 2007). "Horowitz campus effort targets Islamic 'fanatics'". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Michael Krebs (December 23, 2010). "Controversy in Seattle over anti-Israel outdoor advertisements". DigitalJournal.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Kazem, Halima (June 20, 2016). "Funding Islamophobia: $206m went to promoting 'hatred' of American Muslims". The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ Yang, Jennifer (December 21, 2017). "Board member of anti-racism agency fired amid accusations of Islamophobic commentary". Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ^ John L. Esposito (2011). "Islamophobia and the Challenges of Pluralism in the 21st Century - Introduction" (PDF). Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "2008 IRS Form 990" (PDF).
- ^ [1] Archived June 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "FrontPage Magazine". Frontpagemag.com. February 7, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Tapson, Mark. "TruthRevolt's New Editor-in-Chief". TruthRevolt. David Horowitz Freedom Center. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
- ^ "Our Mission". TruthRevolt. David Horowitz Freedom Center. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
- ^ "Discover the Networks". Discover the Networks. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ Gorenfeld, John (April 12, 2005). "Roger Ebert and Mohammed Atta, partners in crime – Salon.com". Dir.salon.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Students For Academic Freedom". Students For Academic Freedom. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "PFAW".
- ^ Robert Spencer Joins the David Horowitz Freedom Center, FrontPage Magazine, September 6, 2006
- ^ ROBERT SPENCER Page at Jihadwatch.
- ^ Glenn Beck Transcript, CNN, August 10, 2006
- ^ Glenn Beck Transcript, CNN, October 23, 2006
- ^ Invitation to author upsets Muslims, Indianapolis Star, March 18, 2007 Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hegghammer, Thomas (July 24, 2011). "The Rise of the Macro-Nationalists". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- ^ "Individual Rights Foundation".
- ^ "Documents". BSALegal.org. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ [2] Archived October 24, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Horowitz, David; Collier, Peter (January 1, 1994). The Heterodoxy Handbook: How to Survive the PC Campus. Regnery Pub. – via Google Books.
- ^ http://cspan.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_PrivateSponsor.exe?DoFn=1987625
- ^ Fang, Lee (March 3, 2017). "California Nonprofit May Have Violated Tax Law By Donating to Anti-Muslim, Far-Right Dutch Candidate".
- ^ https://www.facebook.com/ishaantharoor. "Analysis - Geert Wilders and the mainstreaming of white nationalism". Washington Post.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help); External link in|last= - ^ "Geert Wilders's Far-Right Dutch Party Sees Drop in U.S. Money".
- ^ "Dutch Lawmaker Brings His Anti-Muslim Spiel to U.S."
- ^ "Hate Map".
- ^ "Michael Flynn Failed to Disclose Income From Russia-Linked Entities".
- ^ "Report: Visa, Mastercard blocked donations to conservative think tank on advice from SPLC". World Tribune: Window on the Real World. August 24, 2018. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ "David Horowitz to Newsmax TV: Fighting SPLC, Visa, Mastercard Over Funding Block". Newsmax. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
- ^ Berlet, Chip (2003). "Into the Mainstream". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ Horowitz, David (2003). "An Open Letter To Morris Dees". FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ "Response to David Horowitz's Complaint". FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Morris Dees' Hate Campaign". FrontPageMagazine.com.
- ^ Arabia, Chris (2003). "Chip Berlet: Leftist Lie Factory". FrontPageMagazine.com. Retrieved April 23, 2006.
- ^ Ali, Wajahat; Clifton, Eli; Duss, Matthew; Fang, Lee; Keyes, Scott; Shakir, Faiz (August 26, 2011). "Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America". Center for American Progress. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
- ^ George Zornick (August 29, 2011). "Fear, Inc.: America's Islamophobia Network". The Nation. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- ^ "Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)".
- ^ "Meet Robert Shillman, the Tech Mogul Who Funds Pamela Geller's Anti-Islam Push".
- ^ Chandler, Adam (May 4, 2015). "A Terror Attack in Texas". The Atlantic. Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
External links
- David Horowitz Freedom Center website Official Website.
- Discover the Networks "Guide to the Political Left".
- NewsReal Blog Focused to "analyze and critique cable shows, newspapers, magazines, and the blogosphere to reveal the political Left's methods and agendas".
- Jihad Watch