Targeted by David Horowitz? Fight Back: 6 Actions to Demand of Your University

Photo: S. Damra

In the past week, Islamophobic posters targeting advocates for Palestinian rights were once again plastered on several campuses including Brooklyn College, the University of California Berkeley, San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the University of Chicago. The poster campaign is the work of David Horowitz, an anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and anti-black extremist who is closely aligned with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Stephen K. Bannon. Posters may appear on additional campuses in the coming weeks.

The Horowitz posters list the names of members of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as other students and professors who support Palestinian rights, and falsely accuses them of supporting terrorism. Horowitz compiles names from Canary Mission, a widely condemned online blacklist of Palestinian rights activists.

The Horowitz posters contribute to an unsafe and hostile campus environment for targeted students, particularly Muslims and students of color. Palestine Legal has worked with students on several campuses, this year and in previous years, to pressure their administrations to take immediate action to condemn the posters and to offer concrete support to targeted students.

Here are six actions students targeted by Horowitz posters have demanded their administrations take:     

1. Immediately issue a public statement strongly condemning the Horowitz posters and Canary Mission, and reaffirming students’ and professors’ right to advocate for Palestinian freedom. (Here’s one example.)

2. Meet with members of SJP, JVP, and other targeted groups to hear their concerns and demands.

3. Commit university resources – including legal resources – to pressure Canary Mission and David Horowitz to remove students’ names and information.

4. Pressure Google and other online search engines to deprioritize Canary Mission in search results.

5. Provide legal support and online reputation management support for students and professors who have been targeted by Horowitz and Canary Mission.

6. Create a student-run and student-controlled commission to investigate incidents of racism and discrimination against Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians and all members of marginalized and underrepresented communities.

If you find such posters on your campus, contact Palestine Legal so that we can support your efforts to pressure your administration to take strong and immediate action.