[Editor’s note: I edited two lines in that article. ~ Waylon]

I had to read it twice as I was shocked it was published on Elephant Journal:

“Ideology of a murderous clan.”

One Jewish woman replied to the story and two different Elephant Journal Editors immediately responded saying that she should have empathy. That the writer was just having empathy.

There is zero empathy when language like that is used. That is an extremely dangerous and anti-semitic statement about an entire race of people who are literally fighting for their survival. Who have just witnessed women raped, babies killed and the abduction of women and children. I beg of you to be careful, Elephant Journal community.

The Jewish people (yes, a minority), are seeking empathy from you.

Life for Jewish people have been a series of ups and downs of persecution and bigotry. In fact, my own relatives fled from what is now Ukraine under the oppressive regime of the late 1800s. Fast forward to WWII and Hitler’s campaign to exterminate the entire race of Jewish people, resulted in 6 million men, women and children being put to death. Looking to today, to the current situation in Israel and Hamas, to world-wide anti-semitism, and you can see clearly: the Jewish people’s fight for survival is still a battle.

And here, in the U.S., many Jewish people are facing hate and anti-Semitism—which is currently up by 400%.

I appreciate that Waylon Lewis later added an Editor’s note in the article. But please, be more careful, Elephant Journal. Don’t let hate speech toward the Jewish people seep into a seemingly “harmless” “empathetic” post. Walk the talk. Namaste.

[Editor’s note: heartily agree, thank you for the course correction…and we should not allow hate speech toward Palestinians, Gazans, either. Our enemy here is extremism, and hate]