U.S. Religious Liberty Commission Expels Member for Challenging Zionism

A dispute inside a federal advisory body has turned into a broader test of the boundaries between hate speech enforcement and protected political expression. Carrie Prejean Boller was removed on Wednesday from the White House Religious Liberty Commission after a heated Monday hearing on antisemitism, a development that rapidly spread across social media platforms and policy circles.

Speech Boundaries Tested

Dan Patrick, Lieutenant Governor of Texas and chair of U.S. President Donald Trump’s commission, announced the decision in a public statement. He wrote that “No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda,” adding that this was his decision.

The commission is tasked with examining threats to religious liberty in the United States and proposing policy recommendations tied to First Amendment protections.

The confrontation occurred during a hearing examining antisemitism in America following the 7 October 2023 attack and the war in Gaza, which has continued for more than 2 years and killed over 72,000 Palestinians.

Addressing Yitzchok Frankel, lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against UCLA related to campus encampments, Boller asked whether rejecting Zionism should automatically be treated as antisemitism.

“I’m a Catholic, and Catholics do not embrace Zionism… So are all Catholics antisemites according to you?” she said.

"Can Criticism Equal Hate?"

Boller pressed whether Americans could oppose antisemitism while condemning Israeli military actions or rejecting a political ideology. She asked if a person can “stand firmly against antisemitism… and at the same time condemn the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza or reject political Zionism.”

Her questioning focused on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition and whether it risks conflating criticism of a state with hostility toward a people.

Frankel responded by framing the issue around campus access and intimidation, saying protest remains lawful but “They can protest… but they can’t block Jews.”

The exchange intensified when Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University, answered unequivocally: “Undoubtedly, anti-Zionism is antisemitism.”

He argued denying Israel’s existence constitutes a discriminatory double standard.

Institutional Legitimacy Debate

The viral circulation of the clips amplified polarized reactions. Supporters highlighted Boller's visible Palestine pin and praised her framing of religious liberty, while critics argued the line of questioning minimized harassment concerns.

Boller later wrote on X along with a picture that it was “every Zionist supremacist’s worst nightmare” - Muslims, Christians and Jews “united for religious freedom,” condemning “Zionist supremacy” and pressure to deny faith over antisemitism accusations, adding that “religious freedom lives on.”

Boller also announced that forcing members to affirm Zionism on a “Religious Liberty” Commission contradicts religious freedom, adding she “will not resign” and “will not be bullied” for following her Catholic conscience.

The removal now places the commission itself under scrutiny. Critics question whether a body dedicated to protecting speech rights sidelined dissent within its own proceedings, while supporters argue hearings must remain focused on documented antisemitic incidents.