It wasn’t Albert Einstein who said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” That’s just a myth. But the saying was circulating in recovery communities by the late 1970s, although its true origin is unknown. Whoever first coined it understood a timeless truth: repeating failed patterns rarely produces a different outcome.

That profound truth came to mind as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Christian leaders in Washington on July 29th, urging them to confront the growing tide of antisemitism. Expressions of concern are important, but concern alone has never defeated hatred. If the Church continues responding to antisemitism in the same ways it always has, it should not expect a different result.

I am standing among my Christian brothers and sisters in frustration. I’m hearing the same words, seeing the familiar “stand with Israel” lapel pins, and reading articles about how much Christians support Jewish people. But talk is cheap. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to travel almost 6,000 miles to give a speech that should have been blaring from pulpits in Christian churches all year.

“What I ask of you is only one thing: Stand up. Stand up and don’t cower. When you are faced with an attack, what do you do? Attack back. I am very grateful to you for your consistent support and for the constancy of your friendship. And now it’s time to fight, fight, fight; that’s it.” –Netanyahu

Four words from Netanyahu have been bouncing off the heads and hearts of American Christians for years: “Stand up, don’t cower”.

It was over a year ago when Christians started entering the season of cowardice. The Israel Summit was cancelled in Texas because of “security threats”. The same kind of threats Goliath bellowed twice a day for 40 days. And the reaction of the church was identical to that of Saul’s army: lots of talk and zero action. It was Insanity.

In May of 2025, I stood in Washington, DC, holding a sign that read “Rabbis and Pastors United For Israel”. It was a great photo op. But a year later, where are all those smiling faces?

We Christians watched almost 80 years ago as Jews were loaded into boxcars and sent to almost certain death. The church said the same thing then that we are saying now: “This is horrible. Somebody do something”. Solomon called it “Nothing new under the sun”. I call it insanity.

There is a reason the Christian church in America is in decline while growing in other parts of the world. At the very moment antisemitism is rising in the West, the part of the Church that has historically had the greatest cultural influence in the West is no longer as strong as it once was. What is diluting it? Paralyzing fear and spiritual apathy. If the American Church is losing influence while antisemitism is gaining confidence, what responsibility remains for those Christians who are committed to standing with the Jewish people?

God’s promise in Genesis 12:3 stands eternal:

“I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Genesis 12:3 has never been revoked. God’s covenant with Abraham still forces every generation to answer the same question: Will you bless the descendants of Abraham, or will you stand aside while others curse them? Neutrality has never been one of the options.

But what about those who don’t fit into either camp? American Jews and Christians are standing between the two mountains, not committing to either blessing or cursing. But we MUST choose: Gerizim or Ebal, blessing or cursing.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14

We are thinking it is a safe place to be, on the sidelines and uncommitted, off the field and out of the war. We are wearing the t-shirts and waving Israel flags like any loyal fan from the benches. Yet we don’t realize: We Are Next. Muslim fundamentalists, including Hamas and Hezbollah, have a saying: “First the Saturday people. Then the Sunday people”. Christians are “The Sunday People”. We are being pulled into the game we simply wanted to watch. Jews are not the only target. They are simply first in line.

According to Open Doors’ World Watch List 2026, 4,849 Christians were killed for their faith during the past reporting year. The overwhelming majority of those deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, where Islamist extremist groups were responsible for much of the violence. Remember, approximately 1,200 people were murdered in the horrific October 7 attacks, most of them Jewish Israelis.

All I’m asking Jews and Christians in America to do is look at the math. And wake up from the comfortable insanity that “all will be well” for both Christians and Jews, even if we do nothing. That’s Africa, not the U.S. But Amalek is slowly moving into our neighborhood and stealthily becoming our neighbor. A stabbing here, a desecrated synagogue there, a burned church in some small town, and before you know it, the neighborhood is no longer safe. It looks like daily life in Israel.

History remembers those who acted. Mordecai acted. Esther acted. Shiphrah and Puah acted. Rahab acted. The prophets didn’t merely denounce evil; they confronted it. Every generation is eventually remembered, not for the evil it witnessed, but for the courage it displayed…or failed to display.

Some heard a Prime Minister. Others heard a shofar blast.

The shofar blast in the Hebrew scriptures is used as an alarm in war, a call to gather, and a signal for sacred assemblies, as in Numbers 10:9. Benjamin Netanyahu did just that. His words: “Stand up, don’t cower” could have easily been interpreted into English as “Stop the insanity”.

“Blow the shofar in Zion! Sound an alarm on My holy mountain!” Joel 2:1

Apparently, we couldn’t hear it from 6,000 miles away. So, Netanyahu brought it close. Into our house, where it was loud and clear. And now we have no excuse. Because the American Christian church will be judged according to what we do with Genesis 12:3. It’s time to get out of the valley and pick a mountain.

More than 30 million Christians lived in Poland during the years of the Warsaw Ghetto. Yet only about 7,000 Poles have been recognized by Yad Vashem as “Righteous Among the Nations”. History still asks an uncomfortable question: Why were there not more?

In a nation where more than 30 million people identified as Christians, too few were willing to risk everything to stop the destruction of their Jewish neighbors. Today, nearly 167 million Americans identify as Christians. Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t speaking to a small, powerless audience. He was calling upon one of the largest religious communities on earth to stand against antisemitism.

History has expanded our numbers. The question is whether it has expanded our courage.

Eighty years from now, our grandchildren may ask what we did when antisemitism rose again. May they never have to answer that we posted our support, attended a rally, wore our lapel pins, and watched from a safe distance while others stood in the gap. And this week, Benjamin Netanyahu made each of us ask a question: As antisemitism rises again, will today’s Church respond differently than much of yesterday’s Church did? Will the American Church fail the same moral test that previous generations failed?

Repeating history is insanity. This time, let history tell a different story.