Project Esther Is A Plan To Attack Pro-Palestine Activists

By Prem Thakker, Zeteo

As if Project 2025 – the 900-page repressive blueprint for the US put together by scores of Donald Trump-tied political staffers – wasn’t enough, the Heritage Foundation has released another lengthy and radical document, this time targeting pro-Palestine and anti-war Americans.

The 10,000-word “Project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism” targets what it calls the “Hamas Support Network” (HSN), made up of groups that the document claims are “decidedly antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American” and “involved in furthering Hamas’s cause in contravention of American values and to the detriment of American citizens and America’s national security interests.”

palestine protestors with a palestine flag mask

The network, the project says, revolves around American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) with “action arms” comprised of what the project falsely claims are “Hamas Support Organizations” (HSOs), including Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine, that recruit members, spread propaganda, and conduct rallies with the support of “a coalition of leftist, progressive organizations” such as the Open Society Foundations and Tides Foundation.

Released on Oct. 7 – the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s subsequent genocide in Gaza – the project emerged just weeks before the election but has garnered no attention whatsoever in the US mainstream media.

There has already been wide repression of Americans speaking out against US support for Israel’s genocide of Palestine, but Project Esther embodies a right-wing push to institutionalize the repression through the weaponization of government — especially one led by Trump. While the former president has previously tried to distance himself from Project 2025 (unconvincingly, given the litany of ties between him and the authors), this effort seems catered directly to him. “Our intent is to organize and guide all willing and able partners in a coordinated effort that employs all available resources to combat the scourge of antisemitism in the United States,” the authors write. “Our hope is that this effort will represent an opportunity for public-private partnership when a willing Administration occupies the White House.” (Emphasis not added.) The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.