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The following is a reflection delivered as keynote remarks by Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) CEO Sacha Roytman at the ICEJ Emergency Jerusalem Summit on Antisemitism on Wednesday:
Today, I spoke at the ICEJ Emergency Jerusalem Summit on Antisemitism, an important gathering hosted by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, bringing together more than 100 Christian leaders from 28 countries.
We had a rich theological conversation about the vital role Christians must play in fighting antisemitism. In my remarks, I drew from last week’s Torah portion, Parashat Shelach Lecha (“Send for Yourself”), and I wanted to share this reflection with CAM readers as well.
Parashat Shelach Lecha recounts one of the most pivotal and tragic episodes in the journey of the Jewish people from Egypt to the Promised Land. Moses sent twelve spies to scout the land God had promised to the Jewish people. All twelve saw the same land, the same challenges, and the same giants. Yet only two, Joshua and Caleb, returned with faith and courage. The other ten came back with fear, doubt, and outright rejection.
They did not merely warn that entering the land would be difficult. They actively urged the entire nation to turn back, abandon the land, and reject what was one of the first Zionist acts in Jewish history — the return to Israel from Egypt.
This ancient story is far more than a historical account. It is a timeless warning, and it speaks with striking clarity to our own moment.
When I see anti-Zionism on the rise, including within parts of the Jewish community, it reminds me of this moment, when the ten spies questioned the very nature and essence of Judaism itself, long before today’s progressive voices began doing the same.
The Torah places this challenge before every generation: Will we stand with God’s promise, even when we are in the minority? Or will we turn our backs on God’s will and on Zionism?
The ten spies convinced the Israelites that the land meant for their destiny was actually a threat to their survival. The “land of milk and honey” became, in their telling, a place that “devours its inhabitants.” Sound familiar? It is almost the same language we hear today.
The punishment was swift. Because the spies spent forty days in the land spreading fear and rejection, the generation that accepted their report was condemned to wander forty years in the desert. That generation left Egypt, but never merited entering the Promised Land.
This is a warning from the Bible to the world — do not oppose Zionism and the right of self-determination of the Jewish people. The ten spies were punished because they weaponized fear to turn the Jewish people away from the land God had sworn to give them.
That is why this story lands so powerfully in our time. Modern anti-Zionism follows the same pattern. It looks at Israel and sees only danger, shame, and burden. It tells Jews that our historic and spiritual connection to the land is the problem. It tells the world that Jewish sovereignty is illegitimate. And it pressures the Jewish people to sever ourselves from the very place that stands at the center of our history, our faith, our identity, and our destiny.
Our generation must learn from the spies’ catastrophic mistake. We cannot allow fear, political pressure, cultural fashion, or the desire for acceptance to turn us against Israel.
The Bible’s message is direct and uncompromising — when people turn against Israel, they lose their way.
My remarks included other biblical anecdotes connected to modern times, but this one struck me deeply as I was reading, preparing, and then speaking. I feel clearly that anti-Zionism is punished by God, and that all Abrahamic religions, which believe in the same God, should respect God’s will and God’s word.
Read more:
The Spies Among Us: What Parashat Shelach Lecha Teaches About Jews Who Reject Israel
