Family of man who coined 'genocide' fights institute using his name to accuse Israel of war crimes

A increasing conjugation of salient U.S. rabbis is urging Pennsylvania's Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and authorities officials to reappraisal the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, arguing that the radical has distorted the bequest of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish Jewish jurist who coined the word "genocide," by utilizing his sanction to impeach Israel of committing genocide.

Joseph Lemkin, a New Jersey lawyer and nephew of Raphael Lemkin, said the household acted reluctantly but felt compelled aft seeing however the institute’s materials were reaching younger audiences.

"A operation of factors led america to instrumentality ceremonial steps against the Lemkin Institute," Lemkin told Fox News Digital. "I had heard astir the Lemkin Institute’s disturbing position, but initially thought it was champion to fto the institute proceed successful anonymity. However, erstwhile my 16-year-old lad (at the time) asked maine if I knew astir the institute and what they were espousing connected societal media – I became much acrophobic astir the interaction the institution's behaviour would person connected the adjacent generation."

GROUP ACCUSED OF HIJACKING RAPHAEL LEMKIN, THE MAN WHO COINED THE TERM GENOCIDE, TO FUEL ANTISEMITISM

International lawyer Raphael Lemkin helped draught the Genocide Convention, which maps retired prevention and punishment for the transgression of genocide. (Getty images)

He added, "I knew I had to bash thing to fto the nationalist cognize that the Lemkin Institute was not supported by my family. It was taken to the adjacent level erstwhile I was connected with Rabbi Margolin of the European Jewish Association – his connection with my household made america recognize that this was a far-reaching interest that should beryllium addressed much formally."

Raphael Lemkin coined the word "genocide" successful 1944 aft studying the demolition of European Jewry and helped animate the 1948 U.N. Genocide Convention. His household says his sanction was ne'er meant to beryllium utilized to marque the Jewish authorities arsenic genocidal — a assertion they accidental inverts his life’s work.

The family’s ailment asks Pennsylvania officials to analyse the nonprofit’s usage of Lemkin’s sanction successful nationalist materials, including its Oct. 13, 2023 "Active Genocide Alert," which labeled Israel arsenic committing genocide conscionable days aft Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre.

Lemkin said the timing of that alert was a turning point. "The Active Genocide alert is precise concerning – it made america recognize the horrible docket of the Institute," helium said. "Merely days aft Israelis were killed, raped, tortured and taken hostage and with nary enactment yet taken by Israel to support itself, the alert was issued. This makes it wide that the institute has an anti-Israel docket and not genuinely acrophobic astir quality rights and surely not acrophobic astir attacks connected Jews. Whether the institute considers its positions arsenic antisemitic…it is wide that its docket foments antisemitism."

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Former Harvard University President Larry Summers claimed that the schoolhouse has not been "swift" capable successful combating the antisemitism spreading passim campus.  (JOSEPH PREZIOSO / Contributor)

In caller weeks, a bid of letters from salient rabbis person been submitted to authorities officials, reinforcing the concerns raised by the Lemkin family.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, laminitis of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, urged the authorities to reappraisal whether the group’s usage of "Lemkin" misleads the nationalist astir Raphael Lemkin’s humanities mission. Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag, Chief Justice of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, besides weighed in, calling the "genocide" statement applied to Israel a distortion of humanities truth. Similar letters came from Rabbis Yitzchak Lasry and Tal Peretz, on with further submissions from Rabbis Dana, Ovadia, and Tobali.

"In presumption of rabbis taking a position, I deliberation this is highly important," Lemkin said. "If an enactment uses Rafael’s sanction to distort oregon invert his bequest – spiritual and motivation leaders person a work to support humanities truth. … When a revered nationalist figure’s sanction specified arsenic Rafael, is misused, it becomes a signifier of mendacious witness, which arsenic I recognize it, is contrary to Jewish instrumentality and ethics."

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Protesters astatine NYU connected April 22 accused the schoolhouse of being complicit successful genocide.  (Nikolas Lanum/Fox News Digital)

The rabbinic propulsion comes arsenic the Anti-Defamation League reports record-high antisemitic incidents successful the U.S. Rabbis and household members reason that labeling Israel arsenic "genocidal" nether Lemkin’s sanction does much than distort past — it reinforces rhetoric that spills into real-world antisemitism.

Lemkin said the transportation is wide to him. "In presumption of feeding narratives to assistance antisemitism spread, it seems obvious, and I judge it is supported by empirical evidence, that spikes successful accusations that Israel is committing genocide correlate with surges successful antisemitic incidents successful the U.S.," helium wrote. "From my perspective, utilizing the ‘genocide’ trope against Israel doesn’t beforehand bid oregon justness – it conscionable brings backmost antisemitic patterns. It turns the representation of Jewish victimhood into an accusation against the Jewish People and corrupts a connection coined to forestall different Holocaust."

He added, "Candidly utilizing the connection genocide against Israel portion ignoring Darfur, Rwanda and Syria and others, erodes the motivation credibility of quality rights activists, spotlighting their existent antisemitic motivations."

Lemkin besides warned that antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric is becoming much mainstream.

"My presumption of this governmental infinitesimal – The caller antizionist rhetoric is massively troubling and scary, not lone from the streets and campuses but progressively by elected officials," helium said. "What we utilized to spot confined to the fringe extremists is being heard successful legislative chambers and governmental rallies."

He said helium accepts disapproval of Israeli argumentation but rejects efforts to delegitimize Israel’s existence. "When governmental leaders follow connection condemning Zionism it is denying Jewish peoplehood itself – specified connection by politicians normalizes prejudice and puts our Jewish communities astatine risk."

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A motion sits erected astatine the pro-Palestinian objection encampment astatine Columbia University successful New York, Monday, April 22, 2024.  (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Asked however his uncle would respond today, Lemkin said, "I deliberation helium would beryllium genuinely pained to spot his sanction oregon life’s enactment utilized to distort his mission. He stood for the extortion of each radical – and particularly understood the Jewish people’s close to unrecorded successful information and self-determination."

"To grant Rafael’s memory," helium said, "would beryllium to enactment existent to his motivation clarity, by calling retired existent injustice and to cull rhetoric that twists his bequest and turns his connection of hatred against those for whom helium archetypal spoke."

Fox News Digital reached retired to the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention for comment, but did not person a response.