Washington, DC – When the Heritage Foundation, a well-known right-wing think tank in the US, released a playbook last year to combat the Palestinian solidarity movement, it received little media coverage.
However, more than eight months later, activists and media outlets are now more critical of the policy document, in part because President Donald Trump appears to be sticking to its instructions.
The authors of Project Esther have released a report as a set of counterterrorism tips, but critics claim the document’s main goal is to “poison” anti-Israeli groups by portraying them as Hamas sympathizers.
In response to growing outcry against US support of Israel’s Gaza war, which UN experts and human rights organizations have characterized as a genocide, Project Esther was founded.
What is Project Esther, and how does it work against activists? The document’s current implications for the US are discussed in detail here.
The Heritage Foundation is what?
The Heritage Foundation is a well-known conservative think tank based in Washington, DC, whose stated goals are “formulating and promoting public policies that are based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.”
However, in opposition to Israeli government policies, critics claim that Project Esther calls for government interference to restrict individual freedoms, including the right to free speech and association.
Victoria Coates, a vice president at the Heritage Foundation who served as Trump’s deputy national security adviser, is in charge of the project, according to a report from the New York Times that was released earlier this month.
Project 2025, which critics call an authoritarian playbook for the second Trump presidency, is also funded by The Heritage Foundation.
Democrats repeatedly criticized Trump in Project 2025 ahead of the elections last year, but the then-candidate vehemently disapproved of the document.
What is the objective of Project Esther?
Within 24 months, the initiative claims to “dismantle the infrastructure that sustains” the “Hamas Support Network.”
What does Project Esther define as the “Hamas Support Network”?
The Hamas Support Network (HSN), according to the authors, is a group that supports Palestinian rights.
They define the alleged network as “people and organizations that are directly and indirectly engaged in Hamas’ cause in defiance of American values and American national security interests.”
In essence, the document claims that the “pro-Palestinian movement” is “in effect a terrorist support network.”
Exists there a “Hamas Support Network”?
No.
Hamas is one of the few US-based networks that has strict laws prohibiting the distribution of material support to “terrorist organizations,” including there.
The Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which the Heritage Foundation refers to as a network member, described Project Esther’s accusations as “outlandish.”
According to Miller, “It exposes the length of lies and absurdity that they are going through in an effort to destroy the Palestinian rights movement.”
Al Jazeera requested comment, but The Heritage Foundation did not.
How is Project Esther hoping to end the Palestinian rights movement?
The document calls for a broad-ranging legal, political, and financial campaign against Palestinians who support their rights.
19 of the initiative’s objectives are described as “desired effects.”
They include denying access to universities for Palestinian rights advocates who are not US citizens, making sure that “anti-Semitic content” on social media platforms is not tolerated, and providing evidence of “criminal activity” by Palestine advocates to the executive branch.
Additionally, it calls for the refusal to grant permits for demonstrations aimed at advancing Palestinian rights.
Project Esther urges Israel’s supporters to conduct “legal, private research” into pro-Palestine organizations to “uncover criminal wrongdoing” and undermine their standing.
The tactic of using litigation to pressure opponents is referred to as “we must wage lawfare.”
Does the Trump administration have any policy recommendations?
It appears to be the case.
According to Coates, “the phase we’re in is starting to execute some of the lines of effort in terms of legislative, legal, and financial penalties for what we believe to be significant amounts of terrorism.”
Trump’s crackdown on college protests seems to be in line with Project Esther’s objectives.
For instance, the US government has temporarily revoked visas for Israeli-trained foreign students. This is in line with a suggestion in Project Esther that students should be identified as “in violation of student visa requirements.”
Canary Mission, a website that targets and demonizes pro-Palestine students, is also frequently mentioned by The Heritage Foundation in its Project Esther footnotes. Additionally, it is suspected that the Trump administration relies on the website to identify students who might be deported along with other pro-Israel organizations.
Additionally, Project Esther mentions professors who are “hostile to Israel” in programs like “Middle East/North Africa” or “Islamic studies.”
The Trump administration has been putting pressure on top universities to reform their academic departments, including their Middle East studies programs, because they think they are biased in favor of Palestinians. At Trump’s request, Columbia University, for example, appointed a provost to review its programs “starting with the Middle East” department.
Al Jazeera contacted The White House for comment, but the agency did not respond.
What organizations are Project Esther’s target groups?
The initiative specifically mentions a number of student organizations that are affiliated with the so-called Hamas Support Network, as well as several Arab, Muslim, and progressive Jewish organizations.
According to the initiative, “the network revolves around” the educational and civic advocacy organization American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).
Osama Abuirshaid, the executive director of AMP, criticized Project Esther for using the term “Muslim” in its name, which serves as an outlet for Islamophobic bigotry.
“Palestine is a facile target for American Muslims.” It’s simple to assume responsibility for the actions of American Muslims and Palestinians given the tendencies of Islamophobia. That is a name that sticks, Abuirshaid told Al Jazeera.
Because of its effectiveness and “solid constituency,” he added, the group is also a target.
“If they can cripple and subdue AMP, the movement will experience a chilling effect.” They therefore believe that other organizations will stop working on Palestine solidarity if they can bring us down, Abuirshaid said.
Why should we emphasize universities?
Because Israel is stifling the support of young people in the US, Tariq Kenney-Shawa, a US policy fellow at the Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, claimed Project Esther is targeted at universities.
He claimed on Al Jazeera’s The Take podcast, “That’s why there’s such a vehement focus on universities and college campuses.”
According to Kenney-Shawa, US demographics have been indicating a downward trend toward support for Israel’s war on Gaza. The change is more pronounced on college campuses, though.
While this change is evidently much more acute in the left and among young Americans, Kenney-Shawa said.
According to a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, 53% of Americans with disabilities have negative views of Israel. This percentage rises to 71% among Democrats under the age of 50.
Project Esther is it effective?
Advocates claim that the Palestinian solidarity movement’s immediate crackdown threatens activists’ safety and well-being, particularly those who study abroad. However, there has also been a backlash as a result.
According to JVP’s Miller, “the extreme nature of these attacks has also encouraged people to defiantly continue to speak out in the face of these attacks.”
“And it has actually, in many cases, awakened people who weren’t paying attention to the hypocrisy that has been present for a long time in the refusal to silence and censor Palestinian rights activists.”
In response to free speech concerns, a bill that expanded restrictions on boycotts of Israel was introduced by a number of right-wing lawmakers and Trump allies earlier in May.
Miller’s comments were echoed by Abuirshaid. He made it clear that the focus on Palestine has been “distracted” by the media’s attacks, arrests, and lawsuits against activists and student protesters.
Source: Aljazeera
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