Project Esther, launched by the Heritage Foundation in October 2024, represents the most brazen effort yet to suppress Palestinian advocacy in the US under the guise of combating antisemitism.

It is part of a broader authoritarian shift in US politics—intensified under Donald Trump’s second term—using censorship, lawfare, and intimidation to target the Palestine solidarity movement.

Project Esther falsely reframes pro-Palestine organizations as part of a “Hamas Support Network,” weaponizing legal and financial tools to criminalize advocacy.

Project Esther constitutes a direct assault on democratic principles, serving as both a test case and a blueprint for broader crackdowns on dissent, civil liberties, and progressive movements.

In response to this assault, pro-Palestine groups should do the following:

• Build movement resilience and intersectional solidarity to counter fragmentation and isolation.
• Reframe anti-Zionist advocacy as a human rights and public interest issue grounded in justice and accountability.
• Strengthen legal defenses by leveraging anti-SLAPP laws and preparing for criminalization under terrorism and foreign agent statutes.
• Diversify and secure funding streams to resist defunding campaigns and sustain organizing efforts.
• Document and expose repression to mobilize public support and affirm Palestine advocacy as essential to democratic struggle.