David Horowitz Freedom Center

David Horowitz Freedom Center

Founded	1988
Founder	David Horowitz Peter Collier
Type	Conservative think-tank
Tax ID no.	95-4194642
Focus	Media
Location	14724 Ventura Blvd., S-820 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
Coordinates
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
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 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. It runs several websites and blogs, including FrontPage Magazine, Students for Academic Freedom and Jihad Watch.

Change of name

In July 2006 the center changed its name from the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), 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.'

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 CSPC 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. 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.

Ongoing programs

The Center has the following ongoing programs.

• FrontPage Magazine – a political Web site edited by Horowitz with a focus is on issues pertaining to foreign policy, war, and terrorism.
• Discover the Networks – 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.
• NewsReal Blog – a 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 – 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.
• Jihad Watch (or Jihadwatch; also Dhimmi Watch) – a blog which criticizes the persecution by Muslims of non-Muslims, jihadism, and dhimmitude.
• The Individual Rights Foundation – an 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.
• Restoration Weekend – an 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 said to be 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.

Criticism

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch blog has described it as a far-right organization.

Chip Berlet, writing for the Southern Poverty Law Center (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." 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." The SPLC replied that they stood by the accuracy of the report, and subsequent critical pieces on Berlet and the SPLC have been featured on Horowitz's website and personal blog.

In its 2011 report, "Fear Incorporated: the Roots of the Islamophobia Network in the United States" 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 Muslim Brotherhood".

The Anti-Defamation League writes that Horowitz sponsors a college campus project that promotes anti-Muslim views and arranges events with anti-Muslim activists. The DHFC was also a sponsor of the May 3, 2015 "Muhammad Art Exhibit and Cartoon Contest" in Garland, TX, which resulted in two enraged Muslim attackers being shot by a Garland Police SWAT team.

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