Ami Horowitz

A native of Los Angeles, Horowitz graduated from the University of Southern California with majors in political science and philosophy.{{cite web| last =Neumaier| first =Joe| title =Ami Horowitz returns to political roots in new documentary 'U.N. Me'| work =New York Daily News | date =June 4, 2012| url =http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/ami-horowitz-returns-political-roots-new-documentary-u-n-article-1.1089658}} Horowitz's mother is from Israel.{{cite news| last =Jenkins| first =Mark| title =Filmmaker Ami Horowitz's U.N. mission: Making mirth of a mess| newspaper =Washington Post | date =May 31, 2012| url =https://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-31/lifestyle/35455201_1_horowitz-movie-matthew-groff| archive-url =https://archive.today/20130713031136/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-05-31/lifestyle/35455201_1_horowitz-movie-matthew-groff| url-status =dead| archive-date =July 13, 2013}} He is a Modern Orthodox Jew, and spent a year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/guerilla-mockumentarian-helps-americans-fundraise-for-hamas/|title=Guerrilla mockumentarian helps Americans fundraise for Hamas|work=timesofisrael.com|access-date=April 2, 2017}}

After graduating from USC, Horowitz managed a Democratic candidate's unsuccessful campaign for state comptroller of Maryland. Then, taking the candidate's advice to "make money and go into politics later," he went into investment banking, and spent sixteen years in that field. During that period, he worked at Lehman Brothers.{{cite web| title =Ami Horowitz| work =Q&A.org: C-SPAN| date =September 2, 2012| url =http://www.c-span.org/video/?307569-1/qa-ami-horowitz}} Asked by Brian Lamb on C-SPAN about his political views, Horowitz described himself as "right-of-center" but "not reflexively" so.

Horowitz released a video from a Middle East conference hosted by Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill, that was largely paid for by the U.S. government. The video showed edited clips of a performance by Palestinian-Israeli rapper Tamer Nafar of a satirical song called "Mama, I fell in love with a Jew".{{Cite web|last=Sales|first=Ben|title=Did a campus conference on Gaza feature anti-Semitism?|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/did-a-campus-conference-on-gaza-feature-anti-semitism/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=North Carolina universities to be probed over 'anti-Israel' Gaza conference|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/north-carolina-universities-to-be-probed-over-anti-israel-gaza-conference/|access-date=2021-05-11|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last=Brzobohaty|first=Avery|date=2020-03-01|title=Agency, Authenticity, and Parody in Palestinian Hip Hop|url=https://online.ucpress.edu/jpms/article/32/1/44/109158/Agency-Authenticity-and-Parody-in-Palestinian-Hip|journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies|language=en|volume=32|issue=1|pages=44–56|doi=10.1525/jpms.2020.32.1.44|s2cid=213856657|issn=1533-1598}} Because of Horowitz's video, the Department of Education sued the universities and President Trump signed an executive order against anti-Semitism.{{Cite web|last=Kaplan|first=Jonah|date=2019-04-12|title=Video shows rapper's performance of anti-Semitic song at UNC event|url=https://abc11.com/5243623/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=ABC11 Raleigh-Durham|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-04-16|title=A UNC-Duke conference on Gaza angered some campus officials and a House rep. But was it anti-Semitic?|url=https://www.jta.org/2019/04/16/united-states/did-a-campus-conference-on-gaza-feature-anti-semitism|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Anti-Semitic comments at event sponsored by UNC-Duke group fuel conflict over campus speech|url=https://www.carolinajournal.com/news-article/anti-semitic-comments-at-event-sponsored-by-unc-duke-group-fuel-conflict-over-campus-speech/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Carolina Journal|date=April 19, 2019 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web|first=John K.|last=Wilson|date=2019-04-30|title=Controversial Conferences and Academic Freedom|url=https://academeblog.org/2019/04/30/controversial-conferences-and-academic-freedom/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Academe Blog|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2019-04-12|title=Interim UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz Responds to Anti-Semitic Song at Campus Event|url=https://chapelboro.com/news/unc/interim-unc-chancellor-kevin-guskiewicz-responds-to-anti-semitic-song-at-campus-event|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Chapelboro.com|language=en-US}}

{{Main|U.N. Me}}

Horowitz's film U.N. Me, released in theaters in 2012, was produced, directed, and written by Horowitz and Matthew Groff.{{cite web| last =Harvey| first =Dennis| title =Review: "U.N. Me"| work =Variety| date =June 2, 2012| url =https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/u-n-me-1117947685/}} Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times called U.N. Me "a sassy documentary that suggests the United Nations is doing more harm than good", saying "Mr. Horowitz, the on-camera gadfly, finds ways to work wit into decidedly unpleasant subject matter."{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/movies/un-me-a-documentary-about-the-united-nations.html|title=Eleanor Roosevelt Would Be Appalled|last1=Genzlinger|first1=Neil|date=2012-05-31|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-05-09}}

Under the titles of Ami on the Street, Ami on the Loose, and An Ami Horowitz Digital Short, Horowitz created satirical short films that have appeared on FOX News and YouTube. The films include "Do cops' lives matter?", "Do liberals even know what's in the Iran deal?", "Ferguson Protestors Call for Darren Wilson's Death", "What do you know about the IRS and ObamaCare?", and exposing "anti-Israel companies in Ireland".{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/horowitz-portland-state-university-students-aid-hamas|title=Horowitz: Portland State University students aid Hamas?|first=Ami|last=Horowitz|website=Fox News|date=May 23, 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uufeEhq25rc|title=Ami Horowitz: Do cops' lives matter?|date=March 17, 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypd-2BHPlwQ|title=Ami Horowitz: Do liberals even know what's in the Iran deal?|date=September 11, 2015|via=YouTube}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFTfR6WycA|title=Ami Horowitz: Ferguson Protestors Call for Darren Wilson's Death|date=December 3, 2014|via=YouTube}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YynbsN3X4qQ|title=Ami Horowitz exposes anti-Israeli companies in Ireland|date=June 11, 2015|via=YouTube}}

In one of Horowitz's videos, he acted as "an ISIS supporter" while shouting terrorist rants and waving an ISIS flag inside UC Berkeley.{{cite web|url=http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/11/24/stunt-on-berkeley-campus-shows-students-ignore-isis-sympathizer-but-vehemently-oppose-israeli-flag-waver-ami-horowitz/|title=Stunt On Berkeley Campus Shows Students Ignore ISIS Sympathizer, But Vehemently Oppose Israeli Flag Waver|work=cbslocal.com|date=November 24, 2014|access-date=April 2, 2017}} According to the video, most of the students ignored his "terrorist rants", but a "few gave him a thumbs-up, wished him luck and smiled".{{cite journal|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2014/1120/What-happens-if-you-wave-an-ISIS-flag-on-Berkeley-s-campus|title=What happens if you wave an ISIS flag on Berkeley's campus?|first=Lindsay|last=Ellis|date=November 20, 2014|access-date=April 2, 2017|journal=Christian Science Monitor}} Horowitz later switched to a "Zionist tirade" and began waving an Israeli flag. The video then shows students expressing their outrage toward Israel, cursing and giving Horowitz obscene gestures. How long the videos took to create, and what edits were made is unclear, but Horowitz does appear in different outfits during the two parts of the video.{{Cite web|title=WATCH: How do American college students react to ISIS, Israeli flags?|url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/watch-how-do-american-college-students-react-to-isis-israeli-flags-382388|access-date=2021-05-03|website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com|date=November 20, 2014 |language=en-US}}{{Cite news|date=2014-11-20|title=What happens if you wave an ISIS flag on Berkeley's campus?|work=Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2014/1120/What-happens-if-you-wave-an-ISIS-flag-on-Berkeley-s-campus|access-date=2021-05-03|issn=0882-7729}}{{Cite web|last=Mercer|first=Brandon|date=2014-11-24|title=Stunt On Berkeley Campus Shows Students Ignore ISIS Sympathizer, But Vehemently Oppose Israeli Flag Waver|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/11/24/stunt-on-berkeley-campus-shows-students-ignore-isis-sympathizer-but-vehemently-oppose-israeli-flag-waver-ami-horowitz/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=CBS KPIX5|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=November 20, 2014|first=Samuel|last=Sigal|title=Video: What's More Offensive — ISIS Or Israel?|url=https://forward.com/opinion/209642/video-whats-more-offensive-isis-or-israel/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=The Forward|language=en-US}}

In May 2016, Horowitz released a [https://video.foxnews.com/v/6175851218001#sp=show-clips video]{{Cite web|title=Ami Horowitz talks with Portland protesters, gets attacked|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/6175851218001/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=Fox News|date=August 3, 2020 |language=en}} on FoxNews.com to "see just how far America's liberal students in the Pacific Northwest were willing to take the BDS Movement (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement) against our ally, Israel". Posing as a volunteer for the faux-organization American Friends of Hamas, Horowitz said he raised several hundred dollars from students to "wipe Israel off the map". He told Fox News afterward, "Let's be clear. It's not that these kids are stupid or misinformed or ignorant—I could not have spelled it out more specifically, that we want to use this money to kill Jews".{{cite web|last=Braun|first=Coral|date=May 24, 2016|title=WATCH: From paying tuition to 'funding Hamas'?|url=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/WATCH-From-paying-tuition-to-funding-Hamas-454852|access-date=May 3, 2021|website=The Jerusalem Post}}

In December 2016, Horowitz's 10-minute film Stockholm Syndrome, which explores the "cultural and religious clashes between liberal Swedes and the recent influx of refugee immigrants", was released on FoxNews.com and YouTube.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaIgeQXQgI|title=Stockholm Syndrome|first=Ami|last=Horowitz|date=December 12, 2016|access-date=March 28, 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cite web|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/5248024459001/?#sp=show-clips|title=Horowitz: Sweden now rape capital amidst Muslim immigration|date=December 14, 2016|work=Fox News|access-date=March 28, 2017}} Filmed in September 2016 in Sweden{{cite web|url=http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/5149189013001/?#sp=show-clips|title=Filmmaker discovers 'no go zones' in Sweden|date=September 30, 2016|work=foxbusiness.com|access-date=March 28, 2017}} it features what Horowitz described as "no-go zones". Horowitz said police told him that "when we're pursuing a suspect, and they cross that threshold, and there's about 30 or 40 of them in Sweden, they will not pursue". The film includes audio footage that he says is of himself being "punched, kicked and choked" by Arabic-speaking men that he was trying to film in Husby, Stockholm.{{cite news|url=http://www.jta.org/2016/12/16/news-opinion/world/american-jewish-filmmaker-says-he-was-attacked-by-arabic-speakers-in-stockholm|title=American Jewish filmmaker says he was attacked by Arabic speakers in Stockholm|date=December 16, 2016|work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|access-date=December 19, 2016}}[http://video.foxnews.com/v/5248024459001/?#sp=show-clips Fox News: "Horowitz: Sweden now rape capital amidst Muslim immigration" by Ami Horowitz] December 14, 2016{{cite news|url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6637732|title=US film on Swedish crime unethically edited, say cameramen|publisher=Sveriges Radio|work=sverigesradio.se|date=February 23, 2017|access-date=March 28, 2017}} on February 17, 2017, Horowitz appeared on the Fox News program Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the documentary; President Donald Trump referred to the interview indirectly in a speech the next day.

Some of Horowitz's statements about Sweden in the film and in subsequent interviews were described as false by fact-checkers, news organizations and criminologists as well as Swedish authorities.

• {{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/world/europe/last-night-in-sweden-trumps-remark-baffles-a-nation.html|title='Last Night in Sweden'? Trump's Remark Baffles a Nation|last=Chan|first=Sewell|date=2017-02-19|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-19|issn=0362-4331}}
• {{Cite news|url=http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/g26Lk|title=After Trump's 'Last night in Sweden': Here are the errors in Fox News' report on Swedish immigration|newspaper=Aftonbladet|access-date=2017-02-20}}
• {{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/20/world/europe/trump-pursues-his-attack-on-sweden-with-scant-evidence.html|title=From an Anchor's Lips to Trump's Ears to Sweden's Disbelief|last1=Baker|first1=Peter|date=2017-02-20|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=2017-02-21|last2=Chan|first2=Sewell|issn=0362-4331}}
• {{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/20/14669572/sweden-trump-immigrant-crime|title=What President Trump gets wrong about immigrants and crime in Sweden|last=Beauchamp|first=Zack|newspaper=Vox|access-date=2017-02-21}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.se/20170220/sweden-facts-a-closer-look-at-filmmaker-ami-horowitz-claims|title=Six claims and facts about Sweden: a closer look at Ami Horowitz' report|website=The Local}}
• {{Cite web|url=http://www.factcheck.org/2017/02/trump-exaggerates-swedish-crime/|title=Trump Exaggerates Swedish Crime|website=Factcheck.org|date=February 20, 2017|language=en-US|access-date=2017-02-21}}
• {{Cite news|url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2017/feb/20/what-statistics-say-about-immigration-and-sweden/|title=Facts on Sweden, immigration and crime|newspaper=PolitiFact|access-date=2017-02-21|language=en}}
• {{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/24/no-sweden-isnt-hiding-an-immigrant-crime-problem-this-is-the-real-story/|title=No, Sweden isn't hiding an immigrant crime problem. This is the real story.|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2017-02-24}}

Two policemen who were featured in Horowitz's film said that Horowitz edited answers and questions to misrepresent them.{{Cite news|url=https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/nyheter/swedish-police-featured-in-fox-news-segment-filmmaker-is-a-madman/|title=Swedish police featured in Fox News segment: Filmmaker is a madman - DN.SE|date=2017-02-20|newspaper=Dagens Nyheter|access-date=2017-02-21|language=sv-se}} Two cameramen involved in the project later concurred, after reviewing the raw film, that the footage had been unethically edited to misrepresent the subjects.{{Cite news |url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=2054&artikel=6637732|title=US film on Swedish crime unethically edited, say cameramen=Sveriges|newspaper = Sveriges Radio|date = February 23, 2017|access-date=2017-02-23}}"[https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/he-filmed-the-police-interview-that-trump-saw-the-material-was-not-edited-ethically/ He filmed the police interview that Trump saw: The material was not edited ethically]". Dagens Nyheter. Horowitz denies it, but refused to show the raw material."[https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/ami-horowitz-about-the-criticism-everyone-involved-is-in-the-middle-of-a-shit-storm/ Ami Horowitz about the criticism: Everyone involved is in the middle of a shit storm]". Dagens Nyheter.

On May 8, 2019, Horowitz announced on Twitter that he was running for president of the United States in 2020, stating that he was running as a Democrat because "all their current candidates are insane" and would be soliciting $1 donations in order to qualify for the Democratic presidential primary debates.Axelrod, Tal (May 8, 2019). [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/442786-right-wing-documentary-filmmaker-ami-horowitz-enters-dem-race-solicits "Right-wing documentary filmmaker enters Dem presidential race"]. The Hill.{{cite tweet|user=AmiHorowitz|number=1126167011183042560|date=May 8, 2019|title=🚨 2020 Announcement 🚨 I'm running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination because all their current candidates are insane. If 65,000 people donate $1, I will be onstage at next month's #DemDebate and say that to their face. Donate at http://AmiForAmerica.org}}

Horowitz did not qualify for any of the Democratic presidential debates. He filed a report with the Federal Election Commission that his campaign had terminated as of July 31, 2019.{{cite web |author1=Ami for America |title=FEC Form 3P: Report of Receipts and Disbursements |url=https://docquery.fec.gov/pdf/687/201907319161321687/201907319161321687.pdf |website=FEC.gov |access-date=2019-10-16 |date=2019-07-31}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://amiforamerica.com/ 2020 Presidential campaign website]
• {{C-SPAN|67213}}

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Category:Living people

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