COINTELPRO 2.0: Project Esther, EO 14243, and Palantir

The pattern is familiar, and the escalation is predictable. I warned about this recently, and now it’s unfolding exactly as anticipated.

From my May 22 post:

Just as I anticipated, the blame is being directed at China. Marco Rubio, currently serving in the Trump administration, has previously targeted various leftist organizations for their funding connections to Neville Roy Singham, who has been accused of having ties to the Communist Party of China. These allegations originated from front groups linked to Stratfor, often referred to as the “Shadow CIA,” as well as the State Department and U.S. Intelligence. Additionally, the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) receives backing from the Israel lobby. Recall my previous post about Project Esther, which linked antisemitism to Marxism. Expect a crackdown on leftists and other antiwar activists who are protesting the Gaza war.

On May 28, the Heritage Foundation—architect of Project Esther—officially embraced the narrative linking pro-Palestinian activism to Chinese influence.

The Heritage Foundation’s Project Esther is more than a framework—it’s a blueprint for ideological suppression masquerading as national security policy. By tying anti-Zionism to antisemitism, then layering in foreign influence accusations, the initiative sets the stage for a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Under the guise of national security, any challenge to U.S. policy—whether in opposition to the Gaza war or broader leftist movements—can be framed as a foreign threat. This justification makes mass surveillance not just palatable but necessary.

Enter Palantir—the data engine that makes ideological suppression scalable. While Heritage Foundation shapes the narrative and justification for crackdowns, Palantir provides the technical apparatus to execute them. As I warned in my earlier post, EO 14243 and Trump’s Data Consolidation: The Hidden Agenda Behind Big Tech Surveillance, Palantir is embedding digital IDs across DHS, IRS, and Social Security, consolidating surveillance under the guise of fraud prevention. These tools, once presented as safeguards against fraud, now serve a far clearer purpose: streamlining the targeting and suppression of leftist dissent. Heritage Foundation supplies the blueprint—Palantir builds the machinery.

This isn’t new. The playbook remains the same—COINTELPRO weaponized bureaucratic surveillance to neutralize Black liberation and leftist movements under the guise of national security. Now, Project Esther will leverage EO 14243’s infrastructure to fuse ideological suppression with the mechanics of automated surveillance. Just as COINTELPRO framed activists as subversives to justify government crackdowns, Project Esther weaponizes accusations of extremism and foreign influence to achieve similar ends. The targets have shifted, but the machinery of repression remains intact.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The Fascist Mimicry of Anti-Imperialism

A little more than a century ago the world’s superpower was the British Empire. Despite being a constitutional monarchy where the aristocracy and monarchy still retained significant power, the British Empire was arguably the birthplace of the industrial revolution and it played a significant role in spreading capitalism around the world through colonialism. From around the 19th century until the early 20th century, many saw the British Empire as quite possibly the most affluent and powerful capitalist-colonial empire in the world. The British Empire as the capitalist-colonial hegemon extracts resources from its colonies, transforms them into commodities, and sells them for a profit that would go into the pockets of capitalists and royal colonizers alike. There were other competing colonizers such as France, The Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Japan, and the U.S., but none of them (except the U.S. in the late 20th century) could quite surpass the British Empire. The British Empire was the largest epicenter of world capitalist imperialism and being an anti-imperialist was almost (though not quite) synonymous with being against the British Empire. The geopolitical status of the British Empire is roughly or loosely analogous to the geopolitical status that the U.S. enjoyed since the late 20th century. Both the British Empire and the U.S. enjoy the status of being a hegemonic empire due to their overwhelmingly powerful military (especially their navy) and almost unparalleled economic power.

The Fascist Mimicry of Anti-Imperialism

Israel’s War on American Student Activists

For years the Israel on Campus Coalition—a little-known organization with links to Israeli intelligence—has used student informants to spy on pro-Palestinian campus groups.

Israel’s War on American Student Activists (archived)

Looks like those microgrants are for more than just attending pro-Israel protests.

Previously:

ADL Director sounds alarm over lack of support for Israel among ‘Gen Z’

Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Ms. Cat’s Chronicles.

ADL Director sounds alarm over lack of support for Israel among ‘Gen Z’

Greenblatt’s action plan to combat what he calls anti-Jewish “disinformation” has taken many forms but, so far, appears to focus primarily on the suppression of free speech on social media. In a joint press call on Nov 8th, Greenblatt joined several US politicians to gameplan a way to “combat terrorists and disinformation” on “China-owned” TikTok. During the call, U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer, and Don Bacon formally announced the “Stopping Terrorists Online Presence and Holding Accountable Tech Entities Act,” known as the STOP HATE Act.

The legislation seeks to impose a fine of $5 million a day for any tech company that fails to adequately “fight disinformation” or refuses to submit lists of terms of service violations made by users. It also hopes to force TikTok to register as a foreign agent and clamp down on Al Jazeera for its reporting of humanitarian issues in Gaza.

In March, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for police documents revealed that Florida-based law enforcement was taking direction and colluding with the ADL on how to curb First Amendment-protected activities. The communications between the department’s police chief and Florida ADL Director, Yael Hirschfeld, appeared to scold police brass for releasing prominent influencer Jon “Handsome Truth” Minadeo.

Previously:

Days After Saying ‘Every Jewish Person is a Zionist,’ ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt Says Anti-Zionist Jews are a ‘Hate Group’

Just three days after Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt went on MSNBC to declare that “anti-Zionism is genocide” because “every Jewish person is a Zionist,” Greenblatt put out a new statement labeling the anti-Zionist Jews who protested at the Capitol a “hate group.”

Days After Saying ‘Every Jewish Person is a Zionist,’ ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt Says Anti-Zionist Jews are a ‘Hate Group’

Jewish New Yorkers occupy Statue of Liberty to demand Gaza ceasefire + Protesters block US military ship allegedly carrying weapons for Israel

Protestors unfurled banners reading ‘The whole world is watching’ and ‘Palestinians should be free’ at the base of the landmark. [Stephanie Keith/Getty Images via AFP]

Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace group unfurl banners reading ‘Palestinians should be free’ at the base of New York landmark.

Jewish New Yorkers occupy Statue of Liberty to demand Gaza ceasefire

Related:

Protesters block US military ship allegedly carrying weapons for Israel