TRUMP Commissioner ATTACKS Jewish Witnesses

Man speaking with hands raised, woman and security behind.

A Trump administration hearing designed to combat antisemitism descended into chaos when a conservative Catholic commissioner invoked an ancient blood libel accusation, exposing fractures within what should have been a unified religious liberty front.

Story Snapshot

White House Religious Liberty Commission’s February 9, 2026 antisemitism hearing erupted when Commissioner Carrie Prejean Boller declared “Jews killed Jesus” and challenged witnesses’ focus on Israel
Four Jewish witnesses testified about post-October 7, 2023 campus exclusion and harassment before Prejean Boller’s intervention prompted audience boos and a rebuke from Rabbi Meir Soloveichik
The commission, appointed by Trump to protect religious freedoms, now faces credibility questions ahead of its July 4, 2026 policy report deadline
Prejean Boller wore a Palestinian flag pin, defended controversial commentator Candace Owens, and argued Catholics should reject Zionism

When Religious Liberty Advocacy Turns Against the Victims

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. hosted what should have been straightforward testimony on February 9, 2026. Four witnesses, including UCLA lawsuit plaintiff Yitzy Frankel, Yeshiva University’s Ari Berman, Harvard graduate Shabbos Kestenbaum, and former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl, arrived to describe antisemitic harassment since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks. They expected a receptive audience from Trump’s handpicked Religious Liberty Commission, established by Executive Order 14291 to defend First Amendment protections. Instead, they encountered an inquisition.

The Commissioner Who Counted Israel References

Carrie Prejean Boller, former Miss California and Catholic conservative, kept a running tally during testimony. Seventeen times, she counted, witnesses mentioned Israel. This offended her theological sensibilities. She demanded the Jewish witnesses condemn Israeli military actions in Gaza before accepting their antisemitism complaints as legitimate. Her questioning pivoted from religious liberty concerns to foreign policy litmus tests, wearing a Palestinian flag pin as visual emphasis. The Trump-appointed commissioner positioned herself not as an ally protecting religious expression but as prosecutor determining whose religious persecution merited government concern.

Ancient Accusations in Modern Government Hearings

Prejean Boller’s explicit statement that “Jews killed Jesus” represents more than theological dispute. This charge, known as deicide accusation, fueled centuries of European pogroms and forced conversions. The Second Vatican Council formally repudiated this interpretation in 1965 through Nostra Aetate, declaring Jews should not be presented as rejected or cursed by God. Prejean Boller’s invocation in a 2026 government hearing resurrects rhetoric the Catholic Church itself abandoned six decades ago. Her claim to speak for Catholic doctrine contradicted Cardinal Timothy Dolan, a fellow commissioner, whose archdiocese actively promotes Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

The Sole Jewish Voice Pushes Back

Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Congregation Shearith Israel, the commission’s only Jewish member among thirteen appointees, delivered a measured but firm response. He cautioned Prejean Boller against claiming to represent all Catholics, noting the diversity within religious traditions. His diplomatic rebuke highlighted the power imbalance inherent in the commission’s composition. Jewish witnesses came seeking protection from harassment that prevented UCLA students from accessing campus buildings and Harvard students from participating in graduation. They received instead theological challenges about Christian salvation history and demands they answer for a foreign government’s military decisions.

Defending Candace Owens While Dismissing Jewish Students

Prejean Boller explicitly defended Candace Owens, the commentator dropped from a 2024 Trump campaign event over antisemitic social media posts. She questioned whether defining antisemitism to include anti-Zionism unfairly silenced Christians like herself who oppose Jewish statehood on religious grounds. This framing inverted the hearing’s purpose. Witnesses described concrete harms: physical barriers preventing worship, employment terminations for religious identity, organized disruptions at Jewish-Christian alliance events by Code Pink activists shouting genocide accusations. Prejean Boller abstracted these experiences into definitional debates, suggesting the real victims were Christians constrained from criticizing Israel.

The Federal Funding Leverage Behind Religious Liberty

The stakes extend beyond one contentious hearing. UCLA faced a $339 million federal funding threat after Frankel’s lawsuit documented Jewish students physically blocked from campus areas during protests. The commission’s July 4, 2026 report will recommend policies Trump’s administration could enforce through similar financial leverage across universities and private sector employers. First Liberty Institute, whose president Kelly Shackelford serves as commissioner, has built a litigation strategy around framing antisemitic harassment as religious liberty violations. Federal enforcement could mandate institutional protections, but only if the commission agrees on what constitutes antisemitism versus protected religious or political speech.

The Partisan Blind Spot on Antisemitism Sources

The hearing’s exclusive focus on left-wing campus activism and progressive disruptions ignored antisemitism’s other American sources. Far-right online spaces, white nationalist organizing, and conspiracy theories circulating in conservative media ecosystems received no scrutiny. Witnesses spoke only of Students for Justice in Palestine encampments and Code Pink protesters, not Charlottesville marchers chanting “Jews will not replace us” or social media influencers promoting Holocaust denial to millions. This selective attention undermines the commission’s credibility. Antisemitism becomes a cudgel against political opponents rather than a comprehensive concern about Jewish safety regardless of perpetrator ideology.

Where the Commission Goes From Here

Chair Dan Patrick, Texas Lieutenant Governor, faces difficult choices before the March 16, 2026 healthcare hearing and the summer report deadline. Prejean Boller’s outburst could be dismissed as one commissioner’s aberration, but her views reflect tensions within conservative Christian coalitions over Israel and Jewish-Christian relations. Does protecting religious liberty mean defending Jewish students from campus exclusion or protecting Christian anti-Zionists from antisemitism accusations? The commission’s answer will determine whether Trump’s religious freedom agenda includes or alienates the Jewish community it claims to protect. HUD Secretary Scott Turner opened the hearing emphasizing the administration’s First Amendment commitment, but amendments protect all faiths equally or none authentically.