CHARLESTON, S.C. — Can Jews trust Christians to stand beside them in times of trouble? “No way—not until Christians as a whole begin practicing what they say they believe,” says Earl Cox, Israel’s Ambassador of Goodwill to Christians and Jews.
“A handshake is easy. Saying ‘I stand with you’ costs nothing,” Cox said. “The test comes when standing with the Jewish people brings criticism, threatens your popularity, or requires you to speak when remaining silent would be more comfortable. That is when our Jewish neighbors discover whether our words mean anything.”
In his weekly message to church leaders, Cox, who is known as the voice of Israel to America, urged pastors across America to confront antisemitism from their pulpits and teach their congregations what standing beside their Jewish neighbors requires.
“The church has not replaced Israel, despite what man may say,” Cox said. “The Bible means what it says. Christians cannot profess faith in its authority while disregarding its words about the Jewish people, whom God calls the apple of His eye. If we believe Scripture, we must follow it—even when doing so brings criticism.” Cox said the biblical accounts of God chastening Israel for disobedience must never be mistaken for evidence that God has abandoned the Jewish people.
“God corrected His people many times, but correction did not cancel His covenant,” Cox said. “Again and again, Scripture records His mercy and His promises of restoration. I see the Jewish people’s return to their ancestral homeland and the restoration of their national life as the fulfillment of promises spoken through the prophets. Christians should take those promises seriously.”
Jewish persecution stretches from biblical times to the present, Cox said. The record of Christian responses during centuries of that suffering gives Jewish communities reason to question present-day assurances of friendship.“Where were Christians when mobs attacked Jewish families during the pogroms of Eastern Europe? Where were they during the Holocaust, when the Nazis and their collaborators murdered six million Jews?” Cox asked. “There were courageous Christians who helped, sometimes at the cost of their lives. But far too many chose safety and silence. The courage of those who helped should be our example, and the silence of others should be our shame.”
Cox pointed to the kinds of attacks Jewish communities are facing today: gunfire outside synagogues, vehicles driven into Jewish institutions, bomb threats, arson, firebombings, assaults on worshippers, attacks on gatherings supporting Israeli hostages, and the killing of Israeli Embassy employees.
“What must happen before the church finds its voice?” Cox asked. “Must a synagogue burn in our own neighborhood? Must a Jewish family we know be attacked? A sermon about loving our neighbors means little if we cannot bring ourselves to speak when those neighbors are being threatened.”
Cox called on pastors to condemn antisemitism plainly, build relationships with local Jewish communities, and turn expressions of friendship into visible, consistent action.
“When will the Christian community stand up and fully support the Jewish people?” Cox asked. “Until Christians as a whole practice the faith they profess, why should Jews trust that the next crisis will bring a different response? They have seen too many people retreat into safety while Jewish families face persecution.”
Cox concluded that Christians who offer a Jewish neighbor a handshake and the words “I stand with you” should expect that promise to be judged by their conduct.
“A Jewish neighbor has every right to look that Christian in the eye and ask, ‘Where were you when standing with me would have cost you something?’” Cox said. “The answer must be more than another promise. We must be able to say, ‘I was there’—and have the actions to prove it.”
