Settling the Land

This week’s parasha, Beshalaj, retells the story of the spies sent to Israel to report on the Land previous to its conquest by Joshua. Most of the spies’ report was negative; it was indeed a land of milk and honey, but its inhabitants were “giants”, they would not be able to conquer it or live there.
How much of their report was true? Or why did they choose to express themselves in this way, discouraging people for battle?
Berel Wein analyzing this weeks’ parasha in the J.Post, brings an interesting perspective: how much do we really love our Land?; is it enough, especially for Jews in the Diaspora, to express this love for Israel in financial donations, prayers or lobbies from the respective countries, “defending” Israel for afar but not actually settling there.
Jews in the Diaspora still pray for Zion, for a return to Jerusalem as if it would still be a dream, but it is not, it is real, Israel is real, and as Wein argues, it needs to be accepted by our enemies, but first and foremost is has to be accepted by the Jews.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1244371070670&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull