Family of Jewish Lawyer who coined term ‘genocide’ combat institute which named itself for him
Relatives of Raphael Lemkin have vocally condemned the 'Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention' which was set up in 2021
Members of the family of the Jewish lawyer who coined the term “genocide” have called for an investigation into a vehemently anti-Israel institution which named itself after him.
The “Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention”, was set up in Pennsylvania in 2021, with the clear implication that it was linked to Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish lawyer who was a key voice in the establishment of the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. Since last year, Joseph Lemkin, a relative of Raphael, alongside other Lemkin family members, have called on the “Institute” to engage with them and change its name.
Now, lawyers for Joseph Lemkin have written to the Pennsylvania authorities, urging them to conduct an investigation into “whether the Lemkin Institute is improperly using Mr Lemkin’s name and likeness under law.”
Ten days after the 7 October 2023 mass murder carried out by Hamas, the “Lemkin Institute” accused Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people. Since then, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon, it has walked back from describing Hamas’s action on 7 October as including “genocidal dimensions”, now referring to them as “an unprecedented military operation”, and has alleged that accounts of extreme sexual violence carried out by Hamas on 7 October are part of efforts by Israel to provide justification for the genocide the “Institute” claims it has been carrying out.
Last week, more than 100 academics wrote to Joseph Lemkin, saying that “As scholars who have written about the Holocaust or other genocides, we share your family’s concern about extremists exploiting Raphael Lemkin’s name to attack Israel.
“We are disappointed that the ‘Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention,’ which we understand was created without your family’s permission, is being used to falsely accuse Israel of genocide.”
The letter went on to say that “we support your efforts to reclaim the legacy of Raphael Lemkin from those who are besmirching his ideals and goals.”
In a response to Times of Israel, the Lemkin Institute said that Joseph Lemkin had “communicated through a law firm and we responded that we were open to discussing the name, but we never heard from him or that law firm again.”
The institution alleged that Lemkin, and the European Jewish Association, who is supporting him legally, seemed “interested in a political campaign against us rather than a resolution.” It also claimed that it does “have supporters in the Lemkin family”.
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