Misusing legacy: Jewish family demands removal of name from anti-Israel institute

Raphael Lemkin’s relatives say an institute bearing his name is distorting his legacy by promoting libelous allegations against Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

The family of Raphael Lemkin, an internationally renowned Jewish lawyer who coined the term “genocide,” is urging the removal of his name from an institute they say is misusing his legacy to accuse Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

Lemkin played a central role in drafting the Genocide Convention, designed to prevent and punish ethnically motivated mass murder. But in recent years, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has taken an increasingly politicized stance, repeatedly promoting libelous allegations that Israel is perpetrating genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Lemkin’s nephew Joseph, a New Jersey-based attorney, said the family initially chose not to go public with their concerns. That changed after the institute issued what it called an “active genocide alert,” accusing Israel of committing genocide shortly after the October 7 Hamas-led massacres.

“The active genocide alert is very concerning. It made us realize the horrible agenda of the Institute,” Lemkin told Fox News Digital. “Merely days after Israelis were killed, raped, tortured and taken hostage and with no action yet taken by Israel to defend itself, the alert was issued.”

Lemkin said the institute’s position “makes it clear that the institute has an anti-Israel agenda and [is] not genuinely concerned about human rights and certainly not concerned about attacks on Jews. Whether the institute considers its positions as anti-Semitic … it is clear that its agenda foments antisemitism.”

A conversation with Lemkin’s 16-year-old son, who asked whether he knew what the institute bearing their family name was promoting on social media, helped convince him it was time to act, he said.

Speaking about his uncle, Lemkin said he believed “he would be truly pained to see his name or life’s work used to distort his mission. He stood for the protection of all people and especially understood the Jewish people’s right to live in safety and self-determination.”

The Lemkin family is now urging state officials — including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state’s Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations — to compel the institute to remove the Lemkin name from its public materials.

Joseph Lemkin said that if the institute refuses, the family is prepared to sue and pursue legal action to enforce the name’s removal.