Following my story yesterday afternoon about the posters pasted up around San Diego State University and the ensuing protest and confrontation with the University President, David Horowitz asked to issue a statement. In a 16 minute phone conversation, Horowitz, who openly claims responsibility for the posters that were put up simultaneously at five California campuses, defended his campaign and expressed extreme dismay at the response of Hillel San Diego.
"Hillel chooses to find fault with me and my posters for identifying these students. I really don't get it. I think it's disgraceful. It's a betrayal of the Jews on the campus and the Jews in Israel," Horowitz said.
The statement issued to me on Thursday afternoon by Hillel San Diego strongly condemned the naming of student activists by individuals unaffiliated with the university.
Horowitz's Freedom Center and his website Stop the Jew Hatred on Campus are focused on exposing monetary connections between the terrorist organization Hamas and the Students for Justice in Palestine group which has chapters on public and private college campuses throughout the United States. He said that his goal with the posters was to "expose the fact that you have organizations that are supported by universities.
"I want the university to withdraw all of the funding privileges for a hate group, which is what SJP is. And identify them as a hate group," Horowitz said.
When asked about the specific decision to name the student activists in his posters, Horowitz said "Why shouldn't you name these people? They don't want to be responsible for what they do. They claim themselves victims. Why would anyone defend them? They call for the destruction of the Jewish state."
Horowitz said that the students he named on the posters are not just "students with opinions.
"These are activists on behalf of Hamas," he said. "There's a big difference. I wouldn't single out a student just because they had opinions, however abhorrent. I wouldn't put up posters with student's names just because they disagree with me. I put up the names who are activists, who are dedicated to Hamas campaigns, who kill the Jews of Israel."
To date, Horowitz said he has not been in contact with any university administrators in San Diego.
