Scoop: Internal Project Esther documents describe conspiracy of Jewish ‘masterminds’ seeking to dismantle Western values
A presentation meant to win supporters for the Heritage Foundation’s plan to fight antisemitism draws a line from George Soros to Antifa and pro-Palestinian protests
George Soros, depicted on a poster at a demonstration in Macedonia in 2017, is among the targets of the Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther. Photo by Getty Images
By Arno Rosenfeld December 6, 2024
The Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther, a conservative plan to counter antisemitism, sees the problem as one in which a handful of “masterminds,” including Jews like George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, are seeking to “dismantle Western democracies, values and culture,” according to internal Heritage documents obtained by the Forward.
The documents, a pitch deck that Heritage used in trying to build support from Jewish foundations and other organizations, also outline several tactics the group plans to use to undermine a collection of anti-Zionist nonprofits and progressive groups that it refers to as the Hamas Support Network. The actions include identifying “foreign members vulnerable to deportation” and enlisting law enforcement to “generate uncomfortable conditions” for progressive activists.
Heritage did not respond to an inquiry Friday about the presentation.
The think tank, which also produced the controversial Project 2025 blueprint for a second Trump administration, has struggled to attract Jewish supporters for its antisemitism plan, which appears to have been assembled by several evangelical Christian groups.
Project Esther focuses exclusively on left-wing critics of Israel, ignoring the antisemitism problems from white supremacists and other far-right groups. James Carafano, who runs the Heritage Foundation’s antisemitism task force, said in October that “white supremacists are not my problem because white supremacists are not part of being conservative.”
Eclectic group of ‘masterminds’
The promotional presentation includes two slides headlined “antisemitism’s ecosystem.” One features a pyramid topped by a list of “progressive ‘elites’ leading the way.” In addition to Soros and his son Alex, who run the Open Society Foundations, it also includes the Pritzker family and the Marxist academic and author Angela Davis.
George Soros has funded a variety of progressive causes and long been a boogeyman among conservatives; Alex recently took over the family foundation. It’s less clear why JB Pritzker, who was first elected governor of Illinois in 2018, was on the list. Nor so for his broader family — his sister Penny, who served as a commerce secretary under President Barack Obama and a special envoy for Ukraine in the Biden administration, is on the board of Harvard University and has compared pro-Palestinian protesters at the school to the Klu Klux Klan.
Politico reported in May that Pritzker family members ran a foundation that funded groups, including the Climate Justice Alliance, which had also participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. But subsequent reporting cast doubt on those ties.
“That’s a completely false story,” JB Pritzker said of the Politico article at the time. He also chided the Chicago City Council for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza early this year.
Pritzker’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Heritage also accused lesser-known individuals of leading the network, including Neville Singham, who The New York Times has described as a charismatic millionaire “known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes”; and Manolo de los Santos, who runs a “movement incubator” in New York City.
The pitch deck draws lines from these figures to “Backers,” including foundations both large and small, like Tides, which helps individual donors funnel more than $1 billion to various liberal nonprofits; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; and Wespac, a tiny charity that sponsors several of the most radical pro-Palestinian groups in the country (and whose board chair is Jewish). Activist movements like Antifa and Black Lives Matter are also included on that tier, below which are “organizers,” including the nonprofit groups Jewish Voice for Peace, Students for Justice in Palestine and Fight Back, the arm of a Chicago construction workers union.
In the presentation, the work of these leaders, funders and organizations is described as “violent activity” directed at Jews, including “riots.” One slide includes a photo of a violent 2017 demonstration in Paris.
A plan to ‘neutralize’ the network
Project Esther’s strategy to “neutralize” this network, according to the documents, includes six distinct “lines of effort” with different outcomes.
The version of the plan publicly released on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel, had criticized American Jewish organizations for not taking the threat posed by the “Hamas Support Network” seriously enough. The pitch deck says that Heritage plans to “conduct tailored outreach” to Jews and identify “key influencers” who can help unify the community behind Heritage’s strategy.
Referring to the activist network as a “cancer,” the group also calls for passing legislation to counter it at the federal, state and local levels. One goal is to get groups designated as “TSEs,” an abbreviation for “terrorism support entity,” which can have severe legal consequences.
President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to make fighting antisemitism a priority in his administration. He has suggested that he’s open to at least some of the tactics referenced in Project Esther, including deporting international students who protest against Israel. And the project was assembled by a group that includes the America First Policy Institute, a think tank staffed by some of his top advisers.
No major Jewish organizations appear to have participated in drafting the plan, or publicly endorsed it since its release.
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