- David Horowitz Freedom Center
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Logo of the David Horowitz Freedom Center.
The David Horowitz Freedom Center is a conservative[1] 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 Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Sarah Scaife Foundation.
Contents
Change of name
In July 2006 the center changed its name from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, giving the following explanation:
"We took this action for two reasons", said Board Chairman Jess Morgan. "First, when the Center began, just as the Cold War was ending, we thought that the significant issue of our time would be the political radicalization of popular culture. The culture is still a battleground, but after 9/11, it is clear that freedom itself was under assault from the new totalitarianism of terror. Secondly, David Horowitz, the Center's founder, has become increasingly identified with issues of freedom at home and abroad. We wanted to honor him and also support the efforts he has undertaken. The name change does this and rededicates us to the mission at hand."[2]
Purpose and scope
The original intention of the CSPC was to establish a foothold in Hollywood, California. It serves 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 his organization views as an ingrained hostility towards conservative scholarship and ideas within academia. He established Students for Academic Freedom 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.[3] 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.[4]
Ongoing programs
The Center has the following ongoing programs.[5]
- FrontPage Magazine[6] — a political Web site edited by Horowitz with a focus is on issues pertaining to foreign policy, war, and terrorism.
- Discover the Networks[7] is a database of left-wing agendas, activists and causes. This description can include Jihadists, "anti-American" strains of anti-Iraq War activists, and libertarians, who in Horowitz's view are "allies of the left". After two years of development, went online in February, 2005, with a staff of two at a cost of about $500,000.[8]
- NewsReal Blog[9] is the team blog of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Its focus is to analyze and critique cable shows, newspapers, magazines, and the blogosphere to reveal the political Left's methods and agendas.
- Students for Academic Freedom[10] — Opposes what the organization considers to be far left-wing bias or "indoctrination" in American universities.
- Wednesday Morning Club — In 2006 the Center held twenty-one 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 and Melanie Morgan with Catherine Moy. Speakers in 2007 include Dinesh D'Souza, Dore Gold, Bruce Herschensohn and John O'Sullivan. In previous years speakers have included then-Governor George W. Bush (1999), then-Secretary of Defense 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.[11]
- Jihad Watch (or Jihadwatch; also Dhimmi Watch) — blogs and articles attacking Islamism.[12]
- The Individual Rights Foundation[13] — Organization of lawyers to fight speech codes and political correctness on campuses and elsewhere. Participated as 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.[14][15]
- Restoration Weekend — Annual conservative political activism conference and fundraising/networking event.
Heterodoxy magazine
Heterodoxy was a newsmagazine published in a tabloid format by the center, edited by David Horowitz and Peter Collier. Its focus was on exposing the excesses of political correctness on college and university campuses across the United States.
Funding of Congressional travel
Between July 2000 and February 2006, the center (under its old name) was the sponsor of 25 trips by U.S. Senators and Representatives, all Republicans, to six different events. Total expenditures were about $43,000.[16]
Criticism
Chip Berlet, writing for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an organization positioned to "combat racism and promote civil rights through research, education and litigation," identified the CSPC (now DHFC) as one of 17 "right-wing foundations and think tanks support[ing] efforts to make bigoted and discredited ideas respectable." Berlet 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."[17]
Response
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."[18] The SPLC replied that they stood by the accuracy of the report,[19] and subsequent critical pieces on Berlet and the SPLC have been featured on Horowitz's website and personal blog.[20][21]
Allegations of Islamophobia
In its 2011 report, "Fear Incorporated: the Roots of the Islamophobia Network in the United States"[22] 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. Horowitz's response was that the Center had "joined the Muslin Brotherhood."[23] In an address at Brooklyn College in 2011, Horowitz declared "No people has shown itself so morally sick as the Palestinians ... Not only are they sick, nasty terrorists, but they're racists."[24]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/about/
- ^ http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/
- ^ http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/8750.htm
- ^ http://www.tennessean.com/assets/pdf/DN1658821023.PDF
- ^ http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/ongoing-programs
- ^ http://frontpagemag.com
- ^ http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/default.asp
- ^ http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/12/horowitz_database/index.html
- ^ http://www.newsrealblog.com
- ^ http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/
- ^ http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=16220
- ^ http://www.jihadwatch.org/
- ^ http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/IRF.html
- ^ http://www.bsalegal.org/documents-199.asp
- ^ http://freedomlaw.com/IRFpre.html
- ^ http://cspan.politicalmoneyline.com/cgi-win/x_PrivateSponsor.exe?DoFn=1987625
- ^ Berlet, Chip (2003). "Into the Mainstream". Intelligence Report. Southern Poverty Law Center. http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=105. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
- ^ Horowitz, David (2003). "An Open Letter To Morris Dees". FrontPageMagazine.com. FrontPageMagazine.com. http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=9622. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
- ^ http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/readarticle.asp?ID=9831
- ^ FrontPage Magazine
- ^ Arabia, Chris (2003). "Chip Berlet: Leftist Lie Factory". FrontPageMagazine.com. FrontPageMagazine.com. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=10352. Retrieved 2006-04-23.
- ^ http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/islamophobia.html
- ^ http://www.thenation.com/blog/163023/fear-inc-americas-islamophobia-network
- ^ http://mondoweiss.net/2011/03/noted-expert-on-israelpalestine-david-horowitz-has-never-been-there.html
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
Categories:- David Horowitz
- Political organizations in the United States
- Organizations established in 1988
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