Catholic Activist Removed From Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission After Questioning Zionism
Carrie Prejean Boller, a Catholic conservative activist, was reputedly removed from President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission on February 11 following a contentious public hearing on antisemitism.
She openly questioned whether Catholicism’s refusal to affirm Zionism constitutes “antisemitism” — a reference to the position articulated in 1904 by Pope Pius X, according to Zionism’s founder, Theodor Herzl.
Herzl recorded in his diary entry of January 26, 1904 that the pope had said to him: “We cannot give approval to this movement. We cannot prevent the Jews from going to Jerusalem — but we could never sanction it. The soil of Jerusalem, if it was not always sacred, has been sanctified by the life of Jesus Christ. As the head of the Church I cannot tell you anything different. The Jews have not recognized our Lord, therefore we cannot recognize the Jewish people.” The pontiff added, “If you come to Palestine and settle your people there, we will have churches and priests ready to baptize all of you.”
“Hijacked” the Hearing
Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the commission’s chairman, pulled Boller off the panel for having views aligned with Pope Pius X. He announced the decision on X, stating that Boller had “hijacked” the February 9 hearing for her “personal and political agenda.” He wrote: “No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue. This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision.”
The commission, established by executive order in May 2025, advises the White House on religious liberty policy. Its members include prominent Christian leaders such as Cardinal Timothy Dolan and Bishop Robert Barron. Boller, appointed to the panel, has a history of public conservatism and has previously defended commentators Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson.
During the hearing, which examined antisemitism in the United States, Boller queried Rabbi Ari Berman of Yeshiva University, asking whether opposition to Zionism or criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza constitutes antisemitism. She stated, “I’m a Catholic, and Catholics do not embrace Zionism. Just so you know. So are all Catholics antisemites, according to you?” Patrick cut off her microphone mid-sentence, bypassing the question to say that the hearing focused on religious liberty for all.
Boller has refused calls to resign. In statements on X, she argued that forcing commission members to affirm Zionism contradicts the panel’s mission of religious liberty. She also criticized the witness list as one-sided and called for inclusion of Jewish voices opposed to Zionism.
The removal followed public demands from pro-Israel activist Laura Loomer, who accused Boller of promoting antisemitic views and labeled her comments “vicious Jew-hatred.” Others highlighted the irony of a “Religious Liberty Commission” punishing dissent on Israel-related issues.
Conflating Israel and Jews
The episode reignited debate over the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which the U.S. State Department has adopted. The nonbinding definition includes examples such as “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” (i.e., claiming Israel’s existence is a racist endeavor) and accusing Jews of deicide. Critics, including some Catholic commentators, argue the definition can conflate legitimate policy criticism of Israel or theological differences with hatred of Jews. Boller and supporters framed her questioning as defense of free speech and Christian doctrine, while opponents viewed it as injecting anti-Zionist politics into a hearing on antisemitism.
Boller has maintained that only President Trump can remove her, and has continued posting in defense of her position. According to the commission’s website, she was still a member as of mid-afternoon February 12.
