The strength of that relationship has been on greater display since Hamas’ murderous rampage against Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023. Approximately 1,200 were killed then and another 251 taken hostage.
But the relationship is being undermined by certain conservative individuals in the U.S., Todd Starnes, a Newsmax host and political commentator, said on American Family Radio Wednesday.
“There’s clearly an agenda within the conservative movement to really try and separate the Christian people from the nation of Israel,” he told show host Jenna Ellis.
Evidence of that effort may have come to light earlier this week in a meeting of the White House Religious Liberty Commission.
As the committee convened to discuss rising antisemitism, commissioner Carrie Prejean Boller clashed with Seth Dillon, the CEO of the conservative satire site “The Babylon Bee.”
The argument gained widespread attention, and Boller faced pressure to resign. Wednesday that decision was taken out of her hands when Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chair, removed Boller from the commission.
"Carrie Prejean Boller has been removed from President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission. 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," Patrick wrote Wednesday morning.
Boller is a Catholic conservative activist and former beauty pageant titleholder — she was Miss California USA and first runner-up in the 2009 Miss USA pageant — and later became known for public political commentary and activism on cultural issues.
Boller, who also calls herself a Catholic anti-Zionist, has openly expressed support for the Palestinian cause.
She repeatedly defended well-known media figures like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson from accusations of antisemitism and argued that Owens’ critics were wrong to label her antisemitic, saying Owens simply opposed Zionism.
“I would really appreciate it if you would stop calling Candace Owens an antisemite. She's not an antisemite. She just doesn't support Zionism, and that really has to stop,” Boller told Dillon.
Zionism is a Jewish nationalist movement that emerged in the late 19th century with the goal of establishing and supporting a Jewish homeland in the area known as Palestine. That area is the historical and ancestral land of the Jewish people, now known as Israel.
Prior to Israel’s recognition as a nation in 1948, there was no sovereign state of Palestine in the modern understanding of a nation.
Instead, the land historically known as “Palestine” was a geographic and administrative region under various empires including the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire.
Dillon, who was testifying, insisted that Owens and Carlson had engaged in rhetoric widely viewed as antisemitic and urged the panel to confront antisemitism within conservative circles rather than dismiss it.
The exchange grew tense as they debated whether opposing Zionism or certain phrases — such as Christ is King — constituted antisemitism, illustrating broader disagreements over how the commission should address antisemitism and what speech crosses the line.
“I don’t know why you keep bringing (Candace) up and Tucker,” Boller said.
“Well, because they’re the two most famous antisemites,” Dillon responded.
Boller, who was a wearing a pin of the Palestinian flag Monday, joined the commission and went into this week’s meeting with an agenda, Starnes argued.
“This is nothing more than Jew hatred, and it’s an ugly, ugly thing," he said.
It’s a continuing trend. Americans confront the fight against antisemitism every couple of decades, he said.
Boller, who wore the Palestinian pin alongside an American pin, has previously stated “she was standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people who were, quote, ‘being bombed, displaced and deliberately starved in Gaza,’ which is all simply not true,” Starnes said.
That type of ideology is being pushed – and in the case of Boller followed – by conservative influencers like Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, Starnes said.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people are following their lead,” he said.
But a lot of conservatives also remain strong in support of Israel.
“Just last weekend, I spoke at the Young America Foundation, their national conference. I spoke vehemently against anti-Semitism and received thunderous applause from the crowd,” Starnes said.
Prior to Wednesday, religious and civil-rights advocates and panelists criticized Boller's comments and urged her to step down, saying her language derailed a hearing intended to address antisemitism and did not align with the commission’s mission. Some Jewish leaders encouraged her to give up her seat so someone more focused on protecting religious liberties could serve.
Boller had said she would not resign.
Starnes praised conservative commentator Laura Loomer, who is Jewish, who publicly called on the White House to remove her from the commission for her conduct if she would not voluntarily resign.
“Even if you have a problem with Israel from whatever political perspective you have, it doesn't matter because we are obligated as an ally to Israel to come to their defense. I mean we have signed contracts. We have signed treaties, and therefore we have an obligation as a people to stand alongside Israel,” Starnes said.
But that’s not all.
“Coming from a Christian worldview, we have a responsibility as Christians to stand with Israel,” he said.
