If you are a frequent reader of this paper, you have probably noticed that there have been weeks with no letters to the editor published. You may be surprised that I am not happy about this change—even though the letters relating to what I write about are overwhelmingly negative. Letters to the editor are important: They give others a chance to express their views on a topic or column.
They also increase readership of the paper. I know people who have told me they read the paper specifically for the letters to the editor. It makes me a better columnist because I know I must be very precise in what I write. If I make any mistake or am unclear in my language, I will be called out in a letter. Therefore, I ask readers who also want to see letters to the editor in the paper to make their feelings known by sending an email to the editor. It is also important to have new people write letters instead of the same individuals repeating themselves. If you want to write a letter, do not be afraid to do so.
Now to the main portion of my column. President Trump appointed Carrie Prejean Boller as one of the thirteen members of the U.S. Religious Liberty Commission in May 2025. There was a meeting about challenges facing Jews in America. It was claimed that she hijacked the meeting through her comments and conduct. Ms. Boller came to the meeting wearing a Palestinian flag pin and made remarks such as blaming Jews for the death of Jesus and stating that Catholics are against the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish state. The fact that one is not a Zionist does not make one an antisemite. She also defended Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson from claims that they are antisemitic.
After the meeting, a pressure campaign arose to remove her from the commission. Ms. Boller’s response was that she “will never bend the knee to the State of Israel.” “I will continue to stand against Zionist supremacy in America. I’m a proud Catholic. I, in no way will be forced to embrace Zionism as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. I am a free American. Not a slave to a foreign nation.”
The chair of the commission, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, ended up removing her. “No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue.” Ms. Boller did so and was thus removed.
I do not think this was the best approach. I have been involved in various organizations for many years. I was president of the QJCC. Sometimes people are appointed to a board who are self-promoters and hold what some would consider extreme positions. The way to deal with someone trying to hijack a meeting is to cut them off politely and say the matter will be addressed at a future meeting. If that does not work, call for a motion to table the discussion. In subsequent meetings, if they show up, try to isolate them from the general discussion. If that still fails, be prepared to address their concerns and arguments directly. Then, when their term is over, do not reappoint them.
The worst thing to do was what happened here: pressure the chairman to kick her off. The removal raised her profile and will be used by antisemites as an example of Jews “controlling everything.” You say something that upsets Jews, and you pay the price.
Ms. Boller accused Patrick of “acting in alignment with a Zionist political framework that hijacked the hearing, rather than in defense of religious liberty.”
Fellow antisemite Candace Owens defended her: “Carrie didn’t hijack anything. Carrie spoke truth, as a Catholic, and Christians, the Truth cannot be defeated. Zionists are naturally hostile to Catholics because we refuse to bend the knee to revisionist history and support the mass slaughter and rape of innocent children for occult Baal worshipers.”
Ms. Boller represents a view that has a following in this country. Some of the questions and arguments she raises need to be addressed. There were people on the commission who had the ability to do so, including YU President Ari Berman and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, spiritual leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Manhattan, who did attempt to address some of her points. Now that she is gone, the opportunity may be lost. To pretend that she holds a fringe view is to put our heads in the sand. We should not ignore their questions and arguments. Instead, we should address people like Ms. Boller head-on and show that their claims—which at first glance might seem to have some merit—upon proper scrutiny are meritless. It is also necessary to point out that the motives of those asking the questions are often antisemitic under the guise of anti-Zionism.
Forcing them out only makes them into martyrs, which does nothing to advance the argument that they are antisemites hiding under the veneer of being anti-Zionist or objecting to Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
