What is ‘Project Esther’? The plan to crush Pro-Palestinian activism in the US

An influential Washington-based think tank is reportedly behind a new push to crack down on individual freedoms and crush protests across the United States.

A report from The New York Times reveals the role that the Heritage Foundation has played in the White House’s response to pro-Palestine movements. The group were behind the infamous ‘Project 2025′ and have now released another policy paper, entitled ‘Project Esther‘.

The document was drafted in response to the attack on Israel in 2023, perpetrated by the Hamas terrorist group. Project Esther outlines a plan that promises to fight antisemitism in the US and brands critics of Israel as “effectively a terrorist support network.”

The Trump Administration has been criticized for attacking free speech in its response to the protests. Mahmoud Khalil, a student activist at Columbia University, was arrested and threatened with deportation for helping to oganize the protests.

What is in Project Esther?

The documents outlining Project Esther were released one year after the Hamas attack on Israel, shortly before he 2024 US Presidential Election. In it, the authors warned of a “virulently anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-American ‘pro-Palestinian movement’” that was growing in the US.

The plan focused on college campuses, where much of the pro-Palestine protests had been most visible. Axios reporters have read the Project Esther documents and recount suggestions for public firings of pro-Palestinian professors and breaking up associated groups with anti-racketeering laws. Those laws are usually associated with responses to organized crime.

Authors also demanded a so-called “propaganda purge” from classes and labelled certain members of Congress of Hamas supporters for expressing pro-Palestine views. For now, the extent of Project Esther’s role in policy is still unclear but there are remarkable similarities.

When pressed on the links, White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said: “It’s always been a core principle of President Trump, his administration, and the Republican Party to combat antisemitism, stand with Israel, and revoke visas of foreign nationals who support terrorism and jihadism.”

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