David Horowitz, a former ‘60s radical turned right-wing firebrand who decried what he called the “efforts of the radical left and its Islamist allies to destroy American values,” died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 86.
His death was announced by the David Horowitz Freedom Center, the think tank he founded with Peter Collier in 1988.
A self-described agnostic Jew who wrote in 2016 that he had never been to Israel, he nonetheless became one of the fiercest critics of Democrats, claiming that he had “empowered” Israel’s enemies, including Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, ISIS, and Hamas.
In campaigning against Islamism after 9/11, he became a savage and what many said was a bigoted critic of Islam itself, writing once that “to call Islam a peaceful religion is laughable” and, in another instance, that Islam is “a problematic religion and source of violence.” The Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League both termed him “anti-Muslim.”
Having become an early supporter of Donald Trump’s bid for the presidency, he lambasted fellow conservatives who didn’t support the then-developer and TV star’s candidacy. In a controversial 2016 essay in the hardline right-wing Breitbart News, he accused the conservative Jewish writer William Kristol and other “Never Trumpers” of trying “to weaken the only party that stands between the Jews and their annihilation, and between America and the forces intent on destroying her.”
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 4, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/ELIZABETH FRANTZ)
Defender of the Trump administration
In recent years, he was a fierce defender of some of the first Trump administration’s most contentious stances, including its travel ban on a group of mostly Muslim countries, and its policy of separating undocumented immigrant children from their parents at the border. Stephen Miller, the Jewish senior Trump adviser thought to be an architect of those policies, considers himself one of Horowitz’s proteges.
In 2017, in a harbinger of current Trump administration policies, Horowitz’s Freedom Center launched a campaign against “sanctuary campuses” for failing to report undocumented immigrants to authorities.
Horowitz honed his take-no-prisoners approach to activism as a leader of the New Left, a fiery political movement that emerged in the 1960s with the University of California, Berkeley as its epicenter.
Horowitz earned his master’s in English from Berkeley in 1961 and returned to the campus in 1968. He served as co-editor of the radical magazine Ramparts, which preached revolution “by any means necessary” in its opposition to the Vietnam War and support for far-left regimes.
Horowitz was also a supporter and associate of the Black Panthers, a radical Black Power group. By his own account, Horowitz’s political conversion was sparked by the disappearance and murder in 1974 of Betty Van Patten, a friend who he recommended for a job with the Panthers. Horowitz suspected the Panthers in the murder, which remains unsolved.
“My life as a leftist began with a May Day Parade in 1948, when I was nine years old, and lasted for more than twenty-five years until December 1974, when a murder committed by my political comrades brought my radical career to an end,” he wrote in 1986.
By the end of the 1970s, Horowitz began to further question his Marxist views, and like a number of Jewish “red diaper” babies raised in leftist homes (he was born in Queens to parents who were Communist Party members) he became disillusioned with a movement that he felt ignored the violent excesses of the far left.
In 1984, he voted for Ronald Reagan and co-authored a Washington Post op-ed attacking his old comrades for supporting Cuban dictator Fidel Castro as well as the Sandinistas, a revolutionary leftist movement in Nicaragua.
In 1988, he and Collier founded the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, which became the David Horowitz Freedom Center. Its activities include a database of alleged left-wing activists, the Jihad Watch blog and a magazine dedicated to exposing the excesses of “political correctness” on college campuses.
After the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the foundation increasingly focused on Islamist terrorism. Its targets included Students for Justice in Palestine and pro-Palestinian Berkeley professors it accused of fomenting antisemitism.
In 2016, the Freedom Center launched a poster campaign targeting pro-Palestinian student activists as “Jew haters” and terrorists’ allies. As the posters drew criticism, a pro-Israel campus group funded by the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson was compelled to issue a statement saying that while they had made a “modest” grant to the center, they had not funded the campaign.
Horowitz, deeply critical of Palestinians, claimed that their goal is to erase Jews from the Middle East. “No people have shown themselves as so morally sick as the Palestinians,” he said at Brooklyn College in 2011.
Horowitz was a polarizing figure, earning praise from those who said his views were prescient, and derision from others who described him as a hate-monger.
“David was an incredible resource to me and many other Jewish students facing terror sympathizers and haters on hostile college campuses, before it became national news,” Hannah Grossman, a reporter at the right-wing Manhattan Institute think tank, wrote on X.
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Freedom Center as a hate group, saying its projects “give anti-Muslim voices and radical ideologies a platform to project hate and misinformation.”
He was the author or co-author of dozens of books, whose titles reflect his political compulsions, including “The Shadow Party: How George Soros, Hillary Clinton, and Sixties Radicals Seized Control of the Democratic Party” (2017); “BLITZ: Trump Will Smash the Left and Win” (2020), and “Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America” (2018).
Horowitz was married four times. His survivors include three children by his first marriage; in 2008 a daughter, Sarah, died of heart complications at age 44. He wrote about her in his 2009 book, “A Cracking of the Heart.”
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili"
Please urgently remove this fake hotel from your website. It is a scam and it is deceiving many customers. It is advertised on all social networks as a scam! very important – report on fraud house and scam that in your website and cheat people and customers! – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia
Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia of the "Ana Chuchulashvili" the thief
The worst hotel in the world, it's dangerous, don't go near it! This is not a hotel! It's an old, dirty house, there are cockroaches and insects in the room, Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The manager of the place is a fraud and a former drug addict named "Ana Chuchulashvili" the name of here company is : Ltd Alpaka
405375419
Located at: Nucubidze St N57, Tbilisi, Georgia/Nucubidze Street 57, 0177 it smells terrible, The walls in the room are peeling, I took pictures, there is mold and dampness throughout the room the beds are really uncomfortable, like in a pre-trial detention center, your whole back hurts when you sleep on them and they almost break because they are so thin! the WI FI doesn't work at all, The room was very dirty and filthy, and when you ask her to move you to a room she says everything is taken, even though all the rooms are empty and open! I arrived at this horrible place, this horrible house, at 1:00 AM, after two hours of sleeplessness, I asked for my money back, a blonde girl of about 50 years old named “Anna” told me that she wanted the money in cash right away, otherwise she would not let me out of the hotel, she told me that I would not be able to sleep in their bed, at 3 AM I went to look for an ATM to withdraw money, because I could not find one, after searching for a whole hour, in the Tbilisi cold, I returned to her at midnight to look for an ATM, but she did not give me my suitcase and passport, so I came back the next day and gave me the money in cash, she did not give me an invoice either, do not come near! They are deceiving the public, booking and all hotel websites! This is not a hotel, it is a very dirty, old house and it smells very bad. Search on youtube "never go there – Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City Georgia of Ana Chuchulashvili the house hotel from hell" , don't go " to “Hotel Delisi” on YouTube or "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia " or"HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat" He was caught on tape speaking badly and illegally taking a passport and suitcase.
That she took the suitcase by force, she also stole 3 expensive shirts from me for a total of 250 GEL, I demand compensation of 128 GEL for the two hours of hell I suffered there + 250 GEL for the shirts she stole from me
I have videos where she only wants money in cash so she doesn't pay taxes and doesn't agree that I pay her with a credit card, and she also doesn't want to give me my suitcase and passport.
1. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia
2. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Address
3. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Rooms
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5. Hotel Delisi – Tbilisi City – Georgia Offers and Deals
სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო, ქურდის „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილის“
მსოფლიოში ყველაზე ცუდი სასტუმრო, საშიშია, ახლოს არ მიხვიდეთ! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის! ეს ძველი, ჭუჭყიანი სახლია, ოთახში ტარაკნები და მწერებია, სასტუმრო დელისი, ქალაქი თბილისი, საქართველო – ადგილის მენეჯერი თაღლითი და ყოფილი ნარკომანია, სახელად „ანა ჭუჭულაშვილი“, კომპანიის სახელია: შპს ალპაკა
405375419
მდებარეობს: ნუცუბიძის ქ. N57, თბილისი, საქართველო/ნუცუბიძის ქუჩა 57, 0177, საშინელი სუნი აქვს, ოთახში კედლები აქერცლილია, სურათები გადავიღე, ოთახში ობი და ნესტია, საწოლები ნამდვილად არაკომფორტულია, როგორც წინასწარი დაკავების იზოლატორში, მთელი ზურგი გტკივა, როცა მათზე იძინებ და კინაღამ იმსხვრევა, რადგან ძალიან თხელია! Wi-Fi საერთოდ არ მუშაობს, ოთახი ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი და უწმაწურია და როცა ოთახში გადაყვანას სთხოვ, მიპასუხებს, რომ ყველაფერი დაკავებულია, მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ ყველა ოთახი ცარიელი და ღიაა! ამ საშინელ ადგილას, ამ საშინელ სახლში, ღამის 1:00 საათზე მივედი, ორსაათიანი უძილობის შემდეგ, ფულის დაბრუნება ვთხოვე, დაახლოებით 50 წლის ქერა გოგონამ, სახელად „ანამ“, მითხრა, რომ ფული ნაღდი ფულით უნდოდა, თორემ სასტუმროდან არ გამიშვებდა, მითხრა, რომ მათ საწოლში ვერ დავიძინებდი, დილის 3 საათზე ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად წავედი ფულის გასატანად, რადგან ვერ ვიპოვე, მთელი საათის ძებნის შემდეგ, თბილისურ სიცივეში, შუაღამისას დავბრუნდი მასთან ბანკომატის მოსაძებნად, მაგრამ ჩემოდანი და პასპორტი არ მომცა, ამიტომ მეორე დღეს დავბრუნდი და ფული ნაღდი ფულით მომცა, ინვოისიც არ მომცა, ახლოს არ მოხვიდეთ! ისინი ატყუებენ საზოგადოებას, დაჯავშნის და ყველა სასტუმროს ვებსაიტს! ეს სასტუმრო არ არის, ეს ძალიან ჭუჭყიანი, ძველი სახლია და ძალიან ცუდი სუნი ასდის. YouTube-ზე მოძებნეთ "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia – The worse hotel in the world" , არ წახვიდეთ "Hotel Delisi"-ში YouTube-ზე ან "Hotel Delisi, Tbilisi City, Georgia" ან "HOTEL DELISI (Tiflis, Gürcistan) – Otel Yorumları ve Fiyat". ის ვიდეოჩანაწერში მოხვდა, სადაც ცუდად საუბრობდა და უკანონოდ იღებდა პასპორტს და ჩემოდანს.
მან ჩემოდანი ძალით წამართვა, ასევე მომპარა 3 ძვირადღირებული პერანგი სულ 250 ლარად, მე ვითხოვ 128 ლარის კომპენსაციას იმ ორსაათიანი ჯოჯოხეთისთვის, რომელიც იქ ვიტანჯე + 250 ლარი იმ პერანგებისთვის, რომლებიც მომპარა.
მე მაქვს ვიდეოები, სადაც ის მხოლოდ ნაღდი ფულით ითხოვს ფულს, ამიტომ არ იხდის გადასახადებს და არ ეთანხმება, რომ საკრედიტო ბარათით გადავუხადო, ასევე არ სურს ჩემოდნის და პასპორტის მოცემა.
"ב-7.10 נחטפה כל המשפחה שלי, אני, בעלי דוד, ושתי בנותינו אמה ויולי, אז בנות 3 בלבד", פתחה את נאומה שרון, אשתו של דוד קוניו החטוף בעזה. "דוד בעלי, אהבת חיי, והאבא של הבנות שלי, עדיין שם. התאומות ואני חזרנו ביום החמישים ושתיים. אמה ויולי שלנו חגגו חמש, בלי אבא שלהן. בשבוע הבא הן ילכו לגן חובה, והן יודעות שאבא לא יהיה איתן ביום הזה. הן יודעות שאבא שלהן שם. לפני כמה ימים, כשהשכבתי אותן לישון הן שאלו אותי 'אמא, את בטוחה שאבא יחזור?'".
"יש הצעה לעיסקה על השולחן, שחמאס כבר אמר לה כן", המשיכה. "האמריקנים רוצים שהחטופים יחזרו. הרמטכ"ל אומר שחייבים ללכת עכשיו לעיסקה. העם, אתם, כל אחד מכם, כאן בככר, במהלך היום בצמתים, בכל מקום, במספרים אדירים, כולם צועקים איתנו, כולם רוצים את החטופים בבית. אז למה אני לא יכולה להגיד לבנות שלי שאני בטוחה שאבא שלהן יחזור?"
