Heritage Foundation's Project Esther Aims to Suppress Pro-Palestinian Activism in the U.S.

In late April, representatives from the Heritage Foundation traveled to Israel to engage with key figures in Israeli politics, including the foreign and defense ministers as well as the U.S. ambassador, Mike Huckabee.

The Washington-based conservative think tank is primarily recognized for leading Project 2025, a framework proposing a significant overhaul of the federal government and an extensive increase in presidential authority under a potential second Trump administration.

During this visit, the Heritage delegation also focused on Project Esther, the foundation's controversial initiative aimed at swiftly dismantling the pro-Palestinian movement within the United States. This plan targets activism in academic institutions, progressive groups, and among lawmakers.

Conceived in response to Hamas’s 2023 assault on Israel and the subsequent surge of protests against the Gaza conflict, Project Esther outlines an aggressive approach to combating antisemitism. It seeks to categorize a wide spectrum of critics of Israel as part of a 'terrorist support network,' enabling measures such as deportation, defunding, litigation, job termination, expulsion, and social exclusion from what it defines as an 'open society.'

The architects of Project Esther envisioned several far-reaching consequences: educational curricula perceived as sympathetic to Hamas would be eliminated from schools and universities, and faculty members deemed supportive would face removal. Social media platforms would be cleansed of content labeled antisemitic, institutions could lose public funding, and foreign students advocating for Palestinian rights might have their visas revoked or face deportation.