{{Short description|American entrepreneur and conservative activist (born 1961)}} {{use mdy dates|date=September 2019}} {{use American English|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Ron Unz | image = Ron Unz 2013 01 (cropped).jpg | image_caption = Unz at a 2013 New America symposium | birth_name = Ronald Keeva Unz | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|09|20}} | birth_place = Los Angeles, California, US | education = Harvard University <small>(AB)</small><br />University of Cambridge<br>Stanford University | political_party = Republican | occupation = Businessman, political activist, writer }}
'''Ronald Keeva Unz''' ({{IPAc-en|ʌ|n|z}}; born September 20, 1961) is an American technology entrepreneur, conservative political activist, writer, and publisher. A former businessman, Unz became a financial software multi-millionaire before entering politics.<ref name="Hornblower" /> He unsuccessfully ran for governor as a Republican in the 1994 California gubernatorial election and for U.S. Senator in 2016. He has sponsored multiple ballot propositions promoting structured English immersion education as well as campaign finance reform and minimum wage increases.
Unz was publisher of ''The American Conservative'' from 2007 to 2013, and since 2013 has been publisher and editor of ''The Unz Review'', a website which self-describes as presenting "controversial perspectives largely excluded from the American mainstream media."<ref name="CBC-2019" /> Unz Review has been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League for hosting racist and antisemitic content,<ref name="ADL2018">{{cite web|title=California Entrepreneur Ron Unz Launches a Series of Rhetorical Attacks on Jews|website=Anti-Defamation League|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/california-entrepreneur-ron-unz-launches-a-series-of-rhetorical-attacks-on-jews|date=October 4, 2018|access-date=November 30, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612213524/https://www.adl.org/blog/california-entrepreneur-ron-unz-launches-a-series-of-rhetorical-attacks-on-jews|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled it a white nationalist publication.<ref name="SPLC-2021">{{cite web |last1=Gais |first1=Hannah |title=Meet the White Nationalist Organizer Who Spewed Hate Against Lawmakers |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/01/19/meet-white-nationalist-organizer-who-spewed-hate-against-lawmakers |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en |date=January 19, 2021 |access-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303120815/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2021/01/19/meet-white-nationalist-organizer-who-spewed-hate-against-lawmakers |url-status=live }}</ref> Unz has also drawn criticism for funding VDARE and other publications accused of white supremacism.<ref name="Krantz 2016" />
==Early life and career== Ronald Keeva Unz was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 20, 1961,<ref name="Willis1994">{{cite news|last=Willis|first= Doug|date=May 1, 1994|title= Ron Unz - Science prodigy turns into candidate|newspaper= The Press-Enterprise|location=Riverside, CA|page=A16|agency=Associated Press| via= NewsBank|url= https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EAF84D45AD51F39|url-access=registration}}</ref> to a Ukrainian family of Jewish descent. His family migrated to America in the 20th century and was raised household in North Hollywood.<ref name=LA-Weekly-1999/><ref name="Miller"/><ref name="Hornblower">{{cite news |last1=Hornblower |first1=Margot |title=The Man Behind Prop. 227 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/06/01/time/prop.277.html |access-date=June 9, 2018 |publisher=CNN |date=June 8, 1998 |quote=In 1988 he formed a financial-software firm, Wall Street Analytics, which made him wealthy|archive-date=July 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710173354/http://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/06/01/time/prop.277.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His mother was an anti-war activist<ref name="Miller">{{cite magazine|first=Matthew|last= Miller|authorlink=Matthew Miller (journalist)|title= Man With a Mission: Ron Unz's Improbable Assault on the Powers That Be in California|magazine= The New Republic|date= July 19, 1999|volume=221|pages=24–29|issn=0028-6583|via=NewsBank}}</ref> who raised her son as a single mother. Unz has said that his childhood as a fatherless child in a single-parent household which received public assistance, was a source of "embarrassment and discomfort".<ref name="Miller" />
He attended North Hollywood High School and, in his senior year won first place in the 1979 Westinghouse Science Talent Search.<ref name=LA-Weekly-1999>{{cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/news/being-ron-unz-2131367|first=Douglas|title=Being Ron Unz|last=Foster|work=LA Weekly|date=November 24, 1999|access-date=June 22, 2018|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622062441/http://www.laweekly.com/news/being-ron-unz-2131367|url-status=live}}</ref> He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics and ancient history.<ref name="Willis1994"/><ref name="Bruni">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/us/the-california-entrepreneur-who-beat-bilingual-teaching.html|title=The California Entrepreneur who Beat Bilingual Teaching|last=Bruni|first=Frank|author-link=Frank Bruni|date=June 14, 1998|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 18, 2017|archive-date=October 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022071744/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/14/us/the-california-entrepreneur-who-beat-bilingual-teaching.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1985, he published a note in ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' arguing that that Alexander the Great had younger brothers whom he murdered when he came to the throne.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Unz |first=Ron K. |date=1985 |title=Alexander's Brothers? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/631534 |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=105 |pages=171–174 |doi=10.2307/631534 |issn=0075-4269}}</ref> He then took graduate courses in physics at the University of Cambridge and began a Ph.D. at Stanford University before abandoning the program.<ref name="Miller"/><ref name="Bruni" />
Unz worked in the banking industry and wrote software for mortgage securities during his studies. In 1988, he founded the company Wall Street Analytics in New York City, moving it to Palo Alto, California, five years later.<ref name="Miller"/><ref name="Bruni" /> In 2006, the company was acquired by the ratings firm Moody's.<ref name="MWSAnews">{{cite web|url=http://www.wsainc.com/news/wsa/?news_id=16|title=Moody's Corporation Acquires Wall Street Analytics|date=December 18, 2006|work=MWSA News|publisher=Moody's Corporation|access-date=September 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028152111/http://www.wsainc.com/news/wsa/?news_id=16|archive-date=October 28, 2007}}</ref>
==Political career== Unz made an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination in the 1994 California gubernatorial election, challenging incumbent Pete Wilson. He ran as a conservative alternative to the more moderate Wilson and was endorsed by the conservative California Republican Assembly.<ref name="LA Times Wallace 1994"/> He came in second place to Wilson, receiving 707,431 votes (34.3 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/Vote96/html/stats/SOVp94.htm|title=1994 Statement of Vote|publisher=California Secretary of State|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222153313/http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/Vote96/html/stats/SOVp94.htm|archive-date=December 22, 2008}}</ref> Newspapers referred to Unz's candidacy as a ''Revenge of the Nerds'' and often quoted his claim of a 214 IQ.<ref>{{cite web|first=Phil|last=Reeves|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nerds-seek-revenge-in-californian-poll-apathy-marks-the-run-up-to-the-contest-for-governor-writes-phil-reeves-in-los-angeles-1436526.html|title='Nerds' seek revenge in Californian poll: Apathy marks the run up to the contest for governor|work=The Independent|date=May 17, 1994|access-date=December 24, 2020|archive-date=June 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609005847/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/nerds-seek-revenge-in-californian-poll-apathy-marks-the-run-up-to-the-contest-for-governor-writes-phil-reeves-in-los-angeles-1436526.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="LA Times Wallace 1994">{{cite news|first=Amy|last=Wallace|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-08-mn-55185-story.html|title=Unlikely Path Led to Wilson Foe's Far-Right Challenge – Politics: A computer 'genius' with a passion for Greek philosophy, Ron Unz has set out to jolt the GOP|date=May 8, 1994|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 24, 2020|archive-date=November 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110073300/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-08-mn-55185-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Hornblower"/><ref name="Bruni" />
In 1998, Unz sponsored California Proposition 227, which aimed to change the state's bilingual education to an opt-in structured English-language educational system. It was approved by the voters<ref>[http://primary98.sos.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/227yesarg.htm Arguments in favor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224181358/http://primary98.sos.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/227yesarg.htm |date=December 24, 2008 }} of 1998 California Ballot Proposition 227</ref> despite opposition from language education researchers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/krashen_unzFeb9.html|title=Notes by Steve Krashen on the Unz Attack|date=February 9, 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320073858/http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/krashen_unzFeb9.html|archive-date=March 20, 2006}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=November 2021}} Proposition 227 did not seek to end bilingual education since special exemptions were made for students to remain in an English immersion class if a parent so desires. However, there were limits (such as age restrictions) for the exemptions, and there were provisions to discipline teachers who refused to teach solely or predominantly in English.<ref>{{cite book | last = Crawford | first = James | title = At War with Diversity | publisher = Multilingual Matters | location = Clevedon | year = 2000 | isbn = 1-85359-505-5 }}</ref> Proposition 227 was approved in 1998, but repealed by Proposition 58 in 2016. In 2002, Unz backed a similar initiative, the Massachusetts English Language Education in Public Schools Initiative,<ref name="Medina-NYT-2013">{{cite news |last1=Medina |first1=Jennifer |title=Conservative Leads Effort to Raise Minimum Wage in California |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/us/conservative-leads-effort-to-raise-minimum-wage-in-california.html |work=The New York Times |date=26 November 2013 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109195722/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/us/conservative-leads-effort-to-raise-minimum-wage-in-california.html |url-status=live }}</ref> which was approved by 61.25% of the voters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elebalm/balmresults.html#year2002|title=Statewide Ballot Questions — Statistics by Year: 1919 - 2018 |last=Galvin|first=William Francis|website=sec.state.ma.us|url-status=live|archive-date=2021-04-09|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210409070154/https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elebalm/balmresults.html }}</ref> He also supported ballot initiatives in other states including Arizona Proposition 203 and Colorado Amendment 31.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haver |first1=Johanna J. |authorlink=|title=English for the Children: Mandated by the People, Skewed by Politicians and Special Interests |date=2013 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Education|location=Lanham |isbn=9781475802023}}</ref>
In early 1999, Unz introduced a campaign-finance reform ballot initiative known as the California Voters Bill of Rights (Proposition 25).<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Streisand |first1=Betsy |title=A one-man band's new song |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |date=26 April 1999 |volume=126 |issue=16 |page=42 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_u-s-news-weekly-special-issues_1999-04-26_126_16/page/n43/mode/2up |language=English}}</ref> Co-sponsored by California Democrat Tony Miller and endorsed by Senator John McCain,<ref name="York-Salon-1999"/> the proposal would have required campaign contributions greater than $1,000 to be declared online within 24 hours, limited individual contributions to $5,000, banned corporate contributions to candidates, and permitted statewide candidates to raise funds only within the 12 months before an election.<ref name="Wood-CSM-1999">{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Daniel B. |title=Pruning California's political money tree |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0406/p3s1.html |work=The Christian Science Monitor |date=6 April 1999 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110202259/https://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0406/p3s1.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Purdum-NYT-1999">{{cite news |last1=Purdum |first1=Todd S. |title=California Republican Tries Altering Campaign Finance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/25/us/california-republican-tries-altering-campaign-finance.html |work=The New York Times |date=25 March 1999 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110203800/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/25/us/california-republican-tries-altering-campaign-finance.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In late 1999, Unz briefly entered the U.S. Senate race to challenge incumbent Dianne Feinstein,<ref name="AP-Politico-2014">{{cite news |title=Millionaire GOP-er backs wage boost |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/california-minimum-wage-ron-unz-102064 |work=Politico |agency=Associated Press |date=January 11, 2014 |language=en |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110064838/https://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/california-minimum-wage-ron-unz-102064 |url-status=live }}</ref> declaring his candidacy in October<ref name="York-Salon-1999">{{cite web |last1=York |first1=Anthony |title=Feinstein gets a challenger |url=https://www.salon.com/1999/10/05/unz/ |website=Salon.com |language=en |date=5 October 1999 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110064836/https://www.salon.com/1999/10/05/unz/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and dropping out by December to focus on fundraising for Proposition 25, which was ultimately defeated in the March 2000 primary election.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gledhill|first= Lynda|title=Unz Bows Out of U.S. Senate Race|newspaper=The San Francisco Chronicle| date= December 1, 1999| page= A3|via= NewsBank}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wood |first1=Daniel B. |title=With initiatives, California tilts conservative |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0309/p5s1.html |website=The Christian Science Monitor |date=9 March 2000 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110064837/https://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0309/p5s1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2012 and 2014, Unz worked on a ballot initiative to raise the California minimum wage from $10 to $12, but his campaign failed.<ref name="nf1">{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Robert |title=The Missing Plank of the GOP Platform |url=http://familyinamerica.org/journals/fall-2012/missing-plank-gop-platform/ |access-date=June 16, 2018 |publisher=The Natural Family |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616203811/http://familyinamerica.org/journals/fall-2012/missing-plank-gop-platform/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Abramsky|first1=Sasha|title=What If the Minimum Wage Were $15 an Hour?|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/what-if-minimum-wage-were-15-hour/|access-date=May 29, 2018|work=The Nation|date=April 8, 2014|archive-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529195037/https://www.thenation.com/article/what-if-minimum-wage-were-15-hour/|url-status=live}}</ref> His proposal was supported by economist James K. Galbraith.<ref name="nf1"/>
In 2016, Unz organized the "Free Harvard, Fair Harvard" campaign, a slate of five candidates campaigning for spots on the Harvard Board of Overseers, the governing board of Harvard University. The slate included himself, journalist Stuart Taylor Jr., physicist Stephen Hsu, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, and lawyer Lee C. Cheng. The campaign sought for tuition fees at Harvard to be abolished and for greater transparency in the admissions process.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saul |first=Stephanie |date=January 14, 2016 |title=How Some Would Level the Playing Field: Free Harvard Degrees |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/us/a-push-to-make-harvard-free-also-questions-the-role-of-race-in-admissions.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206033215/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/15/us/a-push-to-make-harvard-free-also-questions-the-role-of-race-in-admissions.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Adamczyk |first=Alicia |date=January 15, 2016 |title=Group Says Harvard Tuition Should Be Free for All Students |url=https://money.com/harvard-free-tuition-endowment/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812143833/https://money.com/harvard-free-tuition-endowment/ |url-status=live |archive-date=August 12, 2020 |newspaper=Money }}</ref><ref name="politico.com">{{cite web |last1=Gerstein |first1=Josh |title=Ralph Nader declares war on Harvard |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/ralph-nader-harvard-admissions-223389 |website=Politico |language=en |date=May 19, 2016 |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111010708/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/05/ralph-nader-harvard-admissions-223389 |url-status=live }}</ref> None of the five candidates were elected to the 30-person board.<ref>{{cite news |last1=DeCosta-Klipa |first1=Nik |title=Ralph Nader fails in bid to be elected to Harvard board |url=https://www.boston.com/news/education/2016/05/23/ralph-naders-free-harvardfair-harvard-campaign-fails-elected-university-board/ |work=Boston.com |date=May 23, 2016 |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111013646/https://www.boston.com/news/schools/2016/05/23/ralph-naders-free-harvardfair-harvard-campaign-fails-elected-university-board/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Gerstein |first1=Josh |title=Nader bid for Harvard board comes up short |url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/05/nader-bid-for-harvard-board-comes-up-short-223482 |work=Politico |date=May 23, 2016 |language=en |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111013646/https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/05/nader-bid-for-harvard-board-comes-up-short-223482 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Unz campaigned on a Republican ticket in California in the 2016 primaries for election to the US Senate intending to succeed Democrat Barbara Boxer.<ref name="Wildermuth">{{cite news|last=Wildermuth|first=John|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Ron-Unz-s-U-S-Senate-race-raises-concerns-of-7254164.php|title=Ron Unz's U.S. Senate race raises concerns of splintered GOP vote|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 17, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419175644/https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Ron-Unz-s-U-S-Senate-race-raises-concerns-of-7254164.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Having previously supported immigration, he now proposed it "should be sharply reduced, probably by 50% or more."<ref>{{cite news|last=Krikorian|first=Mark|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ron-unz-immigration-convert/|title=Ron Unz, Immigration Convert|work=National Review|date=May 27, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419174403/https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ron-unz-immigration-convert/|url-status=live}}</ref> Though not hoping to win the nomination, he put himself forward in an attempt to challenge the then proposed repeal of Proposition 227.<ref name="Wildermuth" /> He was endorsed by former U.S. Representative Ron Paul.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cadelago|first1=Christopher|title=Ron Paul endorses Ron Unz for California's U.S. Senate seat|newspaper=The Sacramento Bee|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article76556717.html|access-date=November 10, 2021|archive-date=September 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907033804/https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article76556717.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the final result, he gained 64,698 votes (1.3%).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/primaries/california|title=California Primary Results, June 7|work=The New York Times|date=September 29, 2016|access-date=April 19, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419183709/https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/primaries/california|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Writing and publishing == ===''The American Conservative'' and the "Asian quota" controversy=== An investor in ''The American Conservative'', he was its publisher from 2007 to 2013.<ref name="Sixsmith">{{cite news|last=Sixsmith|first=Ben|url=https://spectator.us/ron-unz/|title=The curious case of Ron Unz|work=The Spectator|date=September 15, 2018|access-date=April 19, 2019|quote=In June, Unz published an essay saluting the 'remarkable' historiography of David Irving. In his legal fight against the historian Deborah Lipstadt, Unz wrote, Irving's work was analyzed 'line-by-line, footnote-by-footnote' by historians who 'came up empty'. Readers of expert witness Richard J. Evans's report on Irving's scholarship will know this to be false. Unz followed this essay with an approving appraisal of the National Socialists' treatment of France that never once mentioned their millions of murders in Central and Eastern Europe, long articles implicating Mossad in the killings of John and Robert Kennedy and a series of analyses of Jewish history which concluded that Judaism entails 'the enslavement or execution of all non-Jews', that ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' is 'a classic of political thought', that the Holocaust almost certainly did not take place in a recognizable form and that anti-Semitism has in general been well-founded.|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419120830/https://spectator.us/ron-unz/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also contributed opinion articles on topics such as immigration, the minimum wage, and urban crime.<ref name="Medina-NYT-2013"/> In an email leaked to ''National Review'' magazine, editor Daniel McCarthy wrote that Unz was acting as if he were the editor of ''The American Conservative'' and threatened to resign if the publication's board did not support him over Unz.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/08/american-conservative-unfused-betsy-woodruff/|title=The American Conservative, Unfused?|last=Woodruff|first=Betsy|date=August 1, 2013|work=The National Review|access-date=April 19, 2019|archive-date=April 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419120837/https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/08/american-conservative-unfused-betsy-woodruff/|url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2012, Unz published an article in ''The American Conservative'' entitled "The Myth of American Meritocracy". He argued Ivy League universities held an unspoken Asian quota limiting spots granted to Asian students similar to earlier Jewish quotas, and that Jewish students are over-represented than merit would suggest, which he claimed was caused by unconscious Jewish bias among administrators.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Scheer|first=Jacob|date=2018-08-01|title=The American Jewish Affirmative Action About-Face|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-american-jewish-affirmative-action-about-face|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-10|website=Tablet|language=en|archive-date=August 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809161537/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-american-jewish-affirmative-action-about-face}}</ref><ref name="ADL2014" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Pinker|first=Steven|date=2014-09-04|title=The Trouble With Harvard|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/119321/harvard-ivy-league-should-judge-students-standardized-tests|access-date=|issn=0028-6583|archive-date=February 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227031249/https://newrepublic.com/article/119321/harvard-ivy-league-should-judge-students-standardized-tests|url-status=live}}</ref> The article said that the "massive apparent bias" could be attributed to Jewish administrators at those universities.<ref name="Tablet Magazine 2018">{{cite web | title=Alt-Right Publication Accuses Jews of Attempting to Indoctrinate America's Young Via Subversive Children's Books | website=Tablet Magazine | date=2018-02-02 | url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/alt-right-publication-accuses-jews-of-attempting-to-indoctrinate-americas-young-via-subversive-childrens-books | access-date=2021-03-04|last=Ingall|first=Marjorie|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20201123232909/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/alt-right-publication-accuses-jews-of-attempting-to-indoctrinate-americas-young-via-subversive-childrens-books|archive-date=2020-11-23}}</ref><ref name="LA Times 2016">{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Phil |title=Controversial English-only crusader sets his sights on California's Senate race |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-ron-unz-senate-run-20160425-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=25 April 2016 |access-date=March 4, 2021 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116093027/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-ron-unz-senate-run-20160425-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His argument for existence of Asian race-based quota was reproduced in a subsequent ''New York Times'' special debate feature, "Fears of an Asian Quota in the Ivy League"''.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lubin|first=Gus|title=It's Pretty Clear That The Ivy League Discriminates Against Asians|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ivy-league-discriminates-against-asians-2012-12|access-date=2021-11-11|website=Business Insider|language=en-US|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111001859/https://www.businessinsider.com/ivy-league-discriminates-against-asians-2012-12|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Friedersdorf|first=Conor|date=2012-12-21|title=Is the Ivy League Fair to Asian Americans?|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/is-the-ivy-league-fair-to-asian-americans/266538/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-11|work=The Atlantic|language=en|archive-date=November 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111001859/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/12/is-the-ivy-league-fair-to-asian-americans/266538/}}</ref> Unz's admissions analysis was contested by academics at Yale, who showed that his data "grossly underestimates the proportion of Asian-Americans".<ref name="Yale Daily News 2014">{{cite web | title=UP CLOSE: What's next for affirmative action? | website=Yale Daily News | date=2014-09-22 | url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/09/22/up-close-whats-next-for-affirmative-action/ | access-date=2021-03-04 | archive-date=January 23, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123183642/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2014/09/22/up-close-whats-next-for-affirmative-action/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Unz's writings on Ivy League admissions were praised by white supremacist David Duke who said it confirmed Harvard was "now under powerful Jewish influence". The noted antisemite Kevin B. MacDonald said it was similar to his own view that Jews are "at odds with the values of the great majority of non-Jewish White Americans."<ref name="ADL2014" /><ref name="LA Times 2016" />
===''The Unz Archive''=== Unz also compiled the Unz Archive (UNZ.org), a searchable online collection of periodicals, books, and video, that by 2012 held around 25,000 issues of over 120 publications, including ''The American Mercury'', ''The Literary Digest'', ''Inquiry'', ''Collier's'', ''Marxism Today'', ''New Politics'', and various pulp fiction and romance magazines.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bates |first1=Stephen |title=The Periodical Table |journal=The Wilson Quarterly |date=Spring 2012 |volume=36 |issue=2 |page=15 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/42c3da8ca2a987c6db2103617abcc60e/1.pdf |language=en |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110214639/https://www.proquest.com/openview/42c3da8ca2a987c6db2103617abcc60e/1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Gillespie-2012"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wood |first1=Mike |title=Learning about our tradition |url=https://archive.org/details/solidarity_242/page/n9/mode/2up |work=Solidarity |issue=242 |date=April 18, 2012 |page=10}}</ref> Nick Gillespie of ''Reason'' called it "one of the Web's great archive projects".<ref name="Gillespie-2012">{{cite web |last1=Gillespie |author-link=Nick Gillespie |first1=Nick |title=Why The Internet is Great or, "The Influence of Encounter" and UNZ.org |url=https://reason.com/2012/10/03/why-the-internet-is-great-or-the-influen/ |website=Reason.com |date=3 October 2012 |access-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110193135/https://reason.com/2012/10/03/why-the-internet-is-great-or-the-influen/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
=== ''The Unz Review'' === {{main|The Unz Review}} In November 2013, Unz launched the website ''The Unz Review'' for which he serves as editor-in-chief and publisher.<ref name="ADL2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/news/article/ron-unz-controversial-writer-and-funder-of-anti-israel-activists|access-date=June 13, 2018|date=January 20, 2014|title=Ron Unz: Controversial Writer and Funder of Anti-Israel Activists|publisher=Anti-Defamation League|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162734/https://www.adl.org/news/article/ron-unz-controversial-writer-and-funder-of-anti-israel-activists|url-status=live}}</ref>
''The Unz Review'' describes itself as presenting "controversial perspectives largely excluded from the American mainstream media."<ref name="CBC-2019">{{cite web |title=Indiana U says it can't fire prof who made 'racist, sexist and homophobic' remarks |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5372303/indiana-u-says-it-can-t-fire-prof-who-made-racist-sexist-and-homophobic-remarks-1.5372311 |access-date=9 November 2021 |website=CBC Radio |date=November 25, 2019 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109233209/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.5372303/indiana-u-says-it-can-t-fire-prof-who-made-racist-sexist-and-homophobic-remarks-1.5372311 |url-status=live }}</ref> Unz says he mostly posts articles that have already been published, and "I don't even read most of the articles I publish, and I certainly don't edit them. I'm busy."<ref name="LA Times 2016" /> It has been described by the Associated Press as "a hodgepodge of views from corners of both the left and right"<ref name="Oxford-2017">{{cite news |last1=Oxford |first1=Andrew |title=Ex-CIA agent sparks Twitter controversy by sharing commentary on Jews |url=https://apnews.com/article/f1ddf8768407408eb40a77785d42e545 |work=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |date=September 21, 2017 |access-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314195504/https://apnews.com/article/f1ddf8768407408eb40a77785d42e545 |url-status=live }}</ref> and by the ''New York Times'' as "far right".<ref name="The New York Times 2018">{{cite web | title=Why White Supremacists Are Chugging Milk (and Why Geneticists Are Alarmed) | website=The New York Times | date=2018-10-17 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017091349/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/us/white-supremacists-science-dna.html | archive-date=2018-10-17 | url-status=live | access-date=2021-11-10}}</ref> According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in 2014, the webzine is an "outlet for certain writers to attack Israel and Jews".<ref name="ADL2014" /> The Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled it a white nationalist publication.<ref name="SPLC-2021"/> In 2016, a research fellow at the ADL said "I haven't seen Ron Unz write anything anti-Semitic himself, but he really gives a platform to anti-Semites."<ref name="LA Times 2016"/>
===Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism=== The Unz Foundation, of which he is president, has donated to individuals and organizations which are alleged by the ADL to have published or expressed opinions that are antisemitic or anti-Israel. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, it gave $108,000 to Paul Craig Roberts, $74,000 to Philip Giraldi, $75,000 to Norman Finkelstein, $80,000 to ''CounterPunch'' and $60,000 to Philip Weiss, co-editor of the ''Mondoweiss'' website.<ref name="ADL2014" /><ref name="AGM12122013">{{cite news|author=Elder of Ziyon|date=December 12, 2013|title=''New York Times'', Others Praised Anti-Semitic and Slanderous Article|work=The Algemeiner|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2013/12/12/new-york-times-others-praised-anti-semitic-and-slanderous-article/|access-date=April 21, 2019|archive-date=April 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421134906/https://www.algemeiner.com/2013/12/12/new-york-times-others-praised-anti-semitic-and-slanderous-article/|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, the Unz Foundation has given grants to Alison Weir, founder of If Americans Knew.<ref name="ADL2014" /> He has donated tens of thousands of dollars to VDARE, which he admits is a "quasi-white nationalist" website, but has said "they write interesting things".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Duehren |first1=Andrew M |last2=Thompson |first2=Daphne C |title=Overseers Candidate Donates to 'Quasi-White Nationalist' Group |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/4/14/ron-unz-donations/ |work=The Harvard Crimson |date=April 16, 2016 |access-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-date=April 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419120832/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/4/14/ron-unz-donations/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Krantz 2016">{{cite news |last=Krantz |first=Laura |title=Harvard critic faces scrutiny on donations |website=Boston Globe |date=April 16, 2016 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/16/leader-bid-shake-harvard-board-linked-white-supremacist-writers/3YGidncAQoAINn64eXbevI/story.html |access-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130202015/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/16/leader-bid-shake-harvard-board-linked-white-supremacist-writers/3YGidncAQoAINn64eXbevI/story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Quiet Campaign"/>
Since their 2014 article, the ADL commented in October 2018 that Unz "has embraced hardcore anti-Semitism", "denied the Holocaust", and "endorsed the claim that Jews consume the blood of non-Jews", referring to blood libel.<ref name="ADL2018" /> In July 2018, in articles for ''The Unz Review'', he wrote about the claims in the Czarist forgery ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' and Henry Ford's ''The International Jew''. Ford's work, a series of antisemitic pamphlets published in the 1920s, appeared to Unz to be "quite plausible and factually-oriented, even sometimes overly cautious in their presentation".<ref name="ADL2018" /> He partly accepted the standard consensus on the ''Protocols'' but believes they were assembled by "someone who was generally familiar with the secretive machinations of elite international Jews against the existing governments... who drafted the document to outline his view of their strategic plans."<ref name="ADL2018" />
In August 2018, Unz made use of Holocaust denial arguments and wrote, "I think it far more likely than not that the standard Holocaust narrative is at least substantially false, and quite possibly, almost entirely so."<ref name="ADL2018" /> That same year, ''The Unz Review'' published material written by Holocaust denier Kevin Barrett,<ref name="Ross 2019">{{cite web |last=Ross |first=Alexander Reid |date=2019-03-14 |title=World News |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2019-03-14/ty-article-opinion/.premium/russias-role-in-an-anti-semitism-fest-for-fascists-feminists-spies-and-neo-nazi/0000017f-e321-d38f-a57f-e7738c060000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110112020/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/.premium-russia-s-role-in-an-anti-semitism-fest-for-fascists-feminists-spies-and-neo-nazi-1.7003563 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=Haaretz.com}}</ref><ref name="Sixsmith" /><ref name="Anti-Defamation League 2019">{{cite web |date=2019-11-25 |title=Following Sacha Baron Cohen's speech, here is ADL's short list of social media accounts that should have been removed long ago |url=https://www.adl.org/blog/following-sacha-baron-cohens-speech-here-is-adls-short-list-of-social-media-accounts-that |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110110518/https://www.adl.org/blog/following-sacha-baron-cohens-speech-here-is-adls-short-list-of-social-media-accounts-that |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=Anti-Defamation League}}</ref><ref name="Conspiracy Watch 2021">{{cite web |date=2021-11-08 |title=Ron Unz - L'Observatoire du conspirationnisme |url=https://www.conspiracywatch.info/ron-unz |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110110521/https://www.conspiracywatch.info/ron-unz |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-10 |website=Conspiracy Watch {{pipe}} L'Observatoire du conspirationnisme |language=fr}}</ref> while Unz himself defended David Irving, who lost his libel case against Deborah Lipstadt. Unz also implied that Mossad was involved in the murders of President John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert.<ref name="Sixsmith" /> Writing about the 2001 September 11 attacks in a September 2018 article for his ''Review'', Unz stated: "the vast weight of the evidence clearly points in a single direction, implicating Israel and its Mossad intelligence service, with the case being overwhelmingly strong in motive, means, and opportunity."<ref>{{cite news |date=September 9, 2021 |title=Antisemitic Conspiracies About 9/11 Endure 20 Years Later |url=https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613131053/https://www.adl.org/resources/report/antisemitic-conspiracies-about-911-endure-20-years-later |archive-date=June 13, 2022 |access-date=June 22, 2022 |website=Anti-Defamation League}}</ref>
===Collection of essays=== In 2016, Unz self-published ''The Myth of American Meritocracy and Other Essays,'' a hardcover collection of most of his writings, including nearly all of his print articles.<ref name="Quiet Campaign">{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=John S.|url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2016/04/harvard-board-of-overseers-election-update|title=The Quiet Campaign|work=Harvard Magazine|date=April 26, 2016|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=November 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128145247/https://harvardmagazine.com/2016/04/harvard-board-of-overseers-election-update|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Other === Unz provided a $600,000 grant for research in evolutionary biology to Gregory Cochran, an anthropologist who argued that homosexuality may be caused by a "gay germ".<ref name="LA Times 2016" /> Ralph Nader, while running with Unz for Harvard Board of Overseers called him "a very nuanced guy. He should not be stereotyped as a lot of the world of identity politics does."<ref name="politico.com" />
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== *{{cite journal |last1=Crawford |first1=James |title=The Campaign Against Proposition 227: A Post Mortem |journal=Bilingual Research Journal |date=1997 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–29 |doi=10.1080/15235882.1997.10815599}} *{{cite journal|last=William|first= Ryan|date=2002|title= The Unz Initiatives and the Abolition of Bilingual Education|journal=Boston College Law Review|volume= 43|issue=2| pages=487–519 |url= https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol43/iss2/4}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *{{official website|https://www.ronunz.org}} *''[https://www.unz.com/ The Unz Review]'' *{{Ballotpedia|Ron_Unz}} *{{C-SPAN}}
{{Navboxes |title = Awards for Ron Unz |list = {{Regeneron Science Talent Search}} }} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unz, Ron}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American businesspeople in the computer industry Category:20th-century American Jews Category:California Republicans Category:English-only movement Category:American white supremacists Category:Harvard College alumni Category:People from Greater Los Angeles Category:Stanford University alumni Category:Writers from Palo Alto, California Category:North Hollywood High School alumni Category:American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Category:21st-century American Jews Category:American activists Category:Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Category:Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections Category:American Holocaust deniers Category:Blood libel Category:Opposition to affirmative action Category:The American Conservative people Category:People involved in race and intelligence controversies