Religious Freedom Committee Member Removed Over Comments

The chairman of President Donald Trump’s Committee on Religious Freedom announced on Wednesday that a Christian member has been removed due to anti-Zionist remarks made during a recent public hearing.

This hearing focused on Carrie Prejean Boller, a recent convert to Catholicism who was previously stripped of her Miss California USA title in 2009. During the session, she criticized gay “marriage” and questioned if anti-Zionism equates to anti-Semitism, stating, “Catholics do not accept Zionism.” She also asked the panel if they could “condemn what Israel has done in Gaza,” and examined if the contemporary state of Israel is the same as that described in the Bible.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the committee, attempted to manage the tense atmosphere, even suggesting that Boller sit down for coffee with one of the other participants.

Following the hearing, witness Shabbos Kestenbaum expressed disappointment over Boller’s focus on Israel.

Boller maintained she wouldn’t resign or feel “bullied,” and claimed in another message that the hearings excluded “Jewish and Christian voices opposed to Zionism.” She continued to voice her opposition to Zionism, noting, “I will never bend the knee to the State of Israel. Forever. I am determined to speak up more than ever about political Zionism and the lies sold to justify endless wars and dead children.”

She argued in a message that the teachings of the Catholic Church support her stance. Boller pointed out that some Catholics she claims to represent have critics, including Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Donahue emphasized that while it’s possible to oppose Zionism without being anti-Semitic, he noted that there are anti-Semitic activists who often display hostility toward Jews.

Donahue stressed that Boller “does not run a Catholic organization, has no Catholic credentials as an author or lecturer, and in fact represents no one but herself.”

Various organizations, including the Wall Street Journal, condemned Boller’s stance, suggesting her aim was to gain an online following.

On Wednesday morning, Patrick reiterated that no committee member has the right to use a hearing to push their personal agenda, clearly referencing the events of the recent hearing focused on anti-Semitism in the United States.

Patrick expressed gratitude to President Trump for establishing the commission, stating that defending God’s Word and religious freedom is essential to the nation’s foundation and that it could become one of Trump’s significant legacies.