The Heritage Foundation, a prominent conservative think tank, is advancing a controversial plan aimed at dismantling the pro-Palestinian movement across the United States from university campuses to the halls of Congress, according to a new report by The New York Times.

According to the report published on Tuesday, Project Esther seeks to eliminate pro-Palestinian activism in all its forms under the guise of combating antisemitism. It includes measures to remove curricula sympathetic to Palestinians, terminate faculty members who support the movement, cancel student visas for foreign nationals involved in demonstrations, and cut funding to institutions deemed critical of Israel.

The plan reportedly brands a broad range of pro-Palestinian advocacy as "material support for terrorism," paving the way for legal actions including deportation, civil penalties, and even imprisonment.

“We will organise rapidly, take immediate action to stop the bleeding, and achieve all objectives within two years.”

Victoria Coates, a former deputy national security adviser and current vice president at the Heritage Foundation, stated that the goal is to act swiftly.

Many of the project’s proposals have already begun to take shape since Trump’s return to office, including efforts to withhold federal funding from universities supporting Palestinian rights and the revocation of visas for international students involved in activism.

Despite Project Esther's focus of fighting antisemitism, many Jewish organisations are criticising the Trump administration for its extremism.

"Trump is pulling straight from the authoritarian playbook, using tools of repression first against those organising for Palestinian rights," Stefanie Fox, executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, told the New York Times.