Israel votes next month. American Jews have a role, even without a ballot.

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(RNS) — As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly last week, I joined hundreds of rabbis, American Jews and Israeli Americans outside the building to protest his government’s policies of never-ending war, occupation and anti-democratic legislation.

In online debates, some Jewish leaders have argued that protests such as these only fuel antisemitism by directing more anger against Israel and its government. I disagree.

Jews are right to be terrified of antisemitism right now. Less than two weeks ago, on Yom Kippur, a gunman opened fire outside of a synagogue in Ontario, and law enforcement foiled at least three plots on synagogues around the world — in Manchester, UK; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and elsewhere in Ontario.

But the response to antisemitism — including to those who wrongly blame American Jews for the actions of the Israeli government — cannot be to abandon our moral core or to let the Israeli government off the hook for its violations of international law, basic ethics and Jewish law. American Jews should not be equated with the Israeli…