jewishvoiceforpeace.org/whats-project-esther

What’s project esther?

An Explainer

What’s project esther?

Inside Trump's blueprint to destroy the progressive movement, starting with unraveling Palestine solidarity.

Released quietly in late 2024, Project Esther is a plan to defame, defund, and ultimately dismantle groups like JVP within 12-24 months. Find out what’s happening, what’s next for other issues, and how you can fight back.

PROJECT ESTHER’S BLUEPRINT

Click or tap to see how each strategy is being put into effect

Crush Dissent & Campus Protest

• Suppress protest and free speech
• Target faculty and staff
• Destroy student groups and militarize campuses

Escalate Public Fear

• Attempt to manufacture mass fear of antisemitic violence
• Make advocates, writers, and thinkers afraid for their jobs, visas, and degrees

Defund, Defame, Deport

• Cut off funds for nonprofits and charitable organizations
• Falsely accuse individuals and institutions
• Immigration and visa-based retaliation

Silence Anyone Who Speaks Out

• Censor pro-Palestine social media posts
• Punish and criminalize advocacy
• Doxxing and reputation smearing
• Silence academics

What does Project Esther mean for other social movements?

Project Esther's strategy of weaponizing fear to control a social movement is not just about Palestine. It’s a blueprint for how to crack down on other movements — civil liberties, immigrant rights, queer and trans rights, racial justice, workers’ rights, and more. This means that — for all of us — defending the right to speak out for Palestine is central to defending the rights and freedoms of all people in the U.S. Click on the links above to see how other social movements are next.

Is Project Esther already happening?

Who created Project Esther?

Does Project Esther address antisemitism?

Does Project Esther directly target Jewish Voice for Peace?

“The architects of Project Esther aren't interested in fighting antisemitism, even in this moment of rising white nationalism — instead, they're building a machine to crush dissent by any means necessary.”
—Barry Trachtenberg, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History at Wake Forest University

what you can do

Act Now: Protect student activists under attack.

tell your school board: Reject the adl.

TWEET AT THE MEDIA : Do your jobs. Report that israel is continuing its genocide.