(RNS) — Few think tank initiatives have attracted as much public attention as the Heritage Foundation’s set of policy proposals, called Project 2025a conservative vision to defund education, attack LGBTQ+ rights, cut overtime pay for workers, and give tax breaks to the wealthy. Trump disavowed the 2025 plan during his campaign, but now that he has won the presidency, most observers expect it to make up a large part of his agenda.

But almost a year after its release, the foundation expanded to include a new show. To mark the October 7th anniversary, Heritage launched an initiative called Project Esther, meant to tackle a real and undeniable problem: the rise of anti-Semitism.

Although a bit convoluted and repetitive, The Esther Project argues that the Palestinian liberation movement is part of a global network of support for Hamas – which they call “the HSN” – which the authors say is working overtime to destroy American society. The report suggests that these so-called anti-Semitic forces support foreign adversaries while leveraging America’s open society to take control of higher education, the media, and the federal government.

Contrary to what one might think of a report on anti-Semitism, the Esther Project speaks dismissively of Jewish concerns, going so far as to attack “American Jewish complacency” for its failure to solve the problem. In fact, the Jewish insider reported that only two organizations listed in their task force actually represent all Jews. James Carafano, the leader of the initiative, said: “We really understood the Jewish perspective, but it was important to me that all of these organizations were represented, and quite honestly, if they were doing their job and being effective, we would. would do. I don’t have the problem we have.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that Project Esther is not about Jews or anti-Semitism; it is about using justified concerns about anti-Semitism to divert the power of the federal government toward the dismantling of domestic civil society.

The Esther Project does this first by equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism and attacking some of the major pro-Palestinian organizing movements, including National Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace. Although we must remain vigilant question anti-Semitism wherever it appearsThis report goes beyond combating the public arguments of these groups. He advocates dismantling their funding structures and applying this approach to the entire progressive left.

Hundreds of demonstrators protest Israel’s military policies at the Cannon House office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. (RNS Photo/Jack Jenkins)

The 30-page document urges the federal government to release a list of foundations that support pro-Palestinian organizations in their work on Middle East issues, including the Open Society Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Tides Foundation. But these groups do much more than support Palestinian causes; they support invaluable work on a multitude of issues, including climate justice, separation of church and state, and immigration reform.

The report suggests attacking these organizations by taking advantage of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, normally reserved for combating foreign lobbying and organized crime. They also suggest using laws against terrorism, hate speech and immigration to bring charges against pro-Palestinian voices. The entire operation, he said, could be completed within 12 to 24 months given that a “willing administration occupies the White House.”

By making it appear as if they are attacking anti-Semitism, they can create a smokescreen to attack the funding infrastructure of various progressive causes. The Esther Project is not really aimed at Jews: in other words, it is an attempt to invoke anti-Semitism as an excuse for advancing Heritage’s broader Christian nationalist agenda.

A gift is that the Esther project The McCarthyism plan completely ignores the most violent manifestations of anti-Semitism, including white nationalism and the Great Replacement theory. This year, neo-Nazis marched in capitals across the Tennessee And Pennsylvaniawhile three weeks ago, far-right Trump supporters waved swastika flags during a boat parade in Florida. The document also does not account for the role hateful and anti-immigration rhetoric played while inspiring the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue and the Unite the Right March in Charlottesville.

The Esther Project website. (Screenshot)

The bait of ignoring far-right anti-Semitism in favor of demonizing pro-Palestinian activism has become common on the right. By crossing against anti-SemitismRepublican politicians traffic in anti-Semitic tropes. In April, New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik tweeted“George Soros is trying to finance the downfall of America by buying elections for radical, far-left politicians and corrupting the next generation to support terrorist groups.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has long documented how attacks on Soros draw on traditionally anti-Semitic tropes and should be understood as thinly veiled attacks on Jews.

Naming the report after Esther (the Jewish heroine who saved Jews from destruction in ancient Persia) continues its appropriation by far-right figures as a Christian nationalist model. During a gathering at the end of October organized by the International Community of Christians and Jewsa major Christian Zionist organization, speakers called on women to act as “Esthers” by submitting to their husbands to save today’s youth.

Heritage is betting that many Americans who oppose Project 2025 itself won’t know what to make of a proposal to combat anti-Semitism. As civil society begins to strategize to respond to the incoming Trump administration, it is important to see Project Esther for what it is: an expansion of Project 2025 that would undermine social justice and advance supremacy Christian.

(Zev Mishell is a writer currently studying at Harvard Divinity School. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)