The National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism (NTFCA) was formed in November 2023 by the Heritage Foundation as a coalition of Jewish, Christian, and right-of-center advocacy nonprofits to stem the growth of acts of hatred against Jews after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas. On October 7, 2024, the first anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, NTFCA launched Project Esther, a plan to counter antisemitism and anti-capitalism. ^{1 2}

Members

National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism members include right-of-center policy group America First Policy Institute (AFPI); Concerned Women for America, a group that advances biblical values and constitutional principles; conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation; In Defense of Christians, which advocates the preservation of Christianity in the Middle East; Independent Women’s Forum, a right-of-center group that works to expand opportunities for women; Latino Coalition for Israel, a group designed to educate the church and government officials about the rise of antisemitism; Philos Project, a group that advocates for religious pluralism in the Near East; Regent University, Pat Robertson’s Christian university; and the Steamboat Institute, a right-of-center policy group. ^{1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9}

Project Esther

National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced it was launching an initiative called Project Esther (PE), named after the Jewish heroine who saved ancient Jews from genocide by the Persian Empire, to counter antisemitism and anti-capitalism in the United States that has arisen following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks. ²

 

Project Esther claims that protests in support of Palestinian nationalism are the result of a global Hamas Support Network (HSN) and intends to dismantle the infrastructure supporting it. PE intends to expose the resources supporting HSN, activate a coalition of organizations, splinter the supporters of antisemitism, coordinate the actions of NTFCA members, and expose the organizations behind promotion of antisemitism. PE has identified National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP), American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), and Samidoun (Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network), as anti-Israel groups that oppose detention and prosecution of pro-Palestinian activists. It also identified their financial supporters such as Westchester People’s Action Coalition Foundation (WESPAC), a left-of-center non-profit; Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ), a group that is the fiscal sponsor of left-wing groups; the left-of-center Tides Foundation; and Rockefeller Brothers Fund, a contributor to anti-Israel organizations, as members of the HSN. The organization calls for legal tools; denial of access to American society, the economy, and Congress; and to prosecution against HSN-related offenses. ²

Controversies

National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Project Esther are criticized as suppressing pro-Palestinian activism using antisemitism as a pretext and for supporting supposed authoritarian positions taken in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 (the 2025 Presidential Transition Project). ^{10 11}

PE has been called as a smokescreen for attacking a variety of left-wing causes by tying it to its prime sponsor the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025 as well as the accusation that only a few Jewish organizations are a part of PE. Further controversy surrounds the concept advanced by PE that anti-Zionism is the equivalent of antisemitism and that it is an excuse for Heritage Foundation to advance a “Christian nationalist” agenda. ¹²

PE has been accused of a far-right “McCarthyist” attack on democracy under the cover of protecting Jews. ¹³

Project Esther has been criticized for its focus on antisemitism coming from left-wing, anti-Zionist sources and its failure to object to right-of-center commentator Tucker Carlson’s interview with a historian that denies the Holocaust. Critics also argue PE fails to criticize other conservatives who allegedly promote antisemitism. ¹⁴

PE has been called out as a political witch-hunt against Democrats. It explicitly criticizes multiple Democrats, including current or former members of Congress including Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Summer Lee (D-PA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Greg Casar (D-TX), Andre Carson (D-IN), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA); former Representatives Cori Bush (D-MO) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY); and Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as supporting the “Hamas Caucus. ¹⁵

1. “Heritage Announces Formation of National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-announces-formation-national-task-force-combat-antisemitism.
2. “Project Esther: A National Strategy to Combat Antisemitism.” The Heritage Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/project-esther-national-strategy-combat-antisemitism.
3. “About.” The Steamboat Institute, August 12, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://steamboatinstitute.org/about/.
4. “Christian Advocacy in the Near East: Nonprofit.” Philos Project, October 18, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://philosproject.org/.
5. “Christian Leadership to Change the World.” Regent University. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://explore.regent.edu/.
6. In Defense of Christians, November 3, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://indefenseofchristians.org/.
7. “About.” Independent Women’s Forum, January 13, 2023. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.iwf.org/about/.
8. “About Us.” Concerned Women for America, March 15, 2022. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://concernedwomen.org/about-us/.
9. “Mission & Vision.” Latino Coalition For Israel. Accessed December 15, 2024. https://lci.global/vision-mission/.
10. Fivek, Taryn. “Project Esther: Next Chapter of Project 2025 Plans Destruction of Palestine Solidarity Movement.” People’s World, October 18, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://peoplesworld.org/article/project-esther-next-chapter-of-project-2025-plans-destruction-of-palestine-solidarity-movement/.
11. Litvin, Yoav. “Project Esther: A Trumpian Blueprint to Crush Anticolonial Resistance.” Al Jazeera, November 15, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/11/15/project-esther-a-trumpian-blueprint-to-crush-anticolonial-resistance.
12. Mishell, Zev. “Heritage Foundation’s ‘esther’ Addendum to Project 2025 Isn’t Really about Antisemitism.” RNS, November 12, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://religionnews.com/2024/11/11/project-esther/.
13. Kent, Dove. “The Group behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Protect Jews. It Will Do the Opposite.” The Forward, November 20, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024.  https://forward.com/opinion/676036/antisemitism-heritage-foundation-project-esther/
14. Rabey, Steve. “Heritage Foundation’s Antisemitism Effort Ignores Jewish Groups.” Baptist News Global, November 14, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://baptistnews.com/article/heritage-foundations-antisemitism-effort-ignores-jewish-groups/.
15. MSN. Accessed December 10, 2024. https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/inside-project-esther-the-right-wing-action-plan-to-take-down-the-palestine-movement/ar-AA1uIVnj.