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<\/a>Holocaust Scholars Are \u2018Part of the Genocide Problem,\u2019 Says Anti-Israel Group Under Fire for Using Lemkin Name<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\nAtara Beck<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The head of a stridently anti-Israel group has attacked dozens of prominent Holocaust scholars who called out the US-based nonprofit for\u00a0\u201cexploiting\u201d the name of Raphael Lemkin<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the Polish-born Jewish lawyer who survived the Holocaust and subsequently coined the term \u201cgenocide\u201d \u2014 to \u201cfalsely accuse\u201d Israel of genocide.<\/span><\/p>\n Following the attack, multiple members of the Lemkin family expressed to\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>\u00a0their firm opposition to the organization\u2019s using their relative\u2019s name to pursue a campaign of anti-Israel activism.<\/span><\/p>\n In a recent LinkedIn post, Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, co-founder and executive director of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention, denounced more than 100 distinguished scholars, including two former leaders of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, for supporting Joseph Lemkin. Lemkin \u2014 a relative of Raphael Lemkin, who helped draft the Genocide Convention after World War II and\u00a0after whom the institute is named \u2014 is fighting to disassociate his cousin from the anti-Israel institution.<\/span><\/p>\n The Pennsylvania-based nonprofit, established in 2021, began accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza just days after Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, where Palestinian terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages in the\u00a0deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n The institute accused the Jewish state of genocide even before the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched its ground offensive in Gaza weeks later. It further promoted the position that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court for war crimes. In September 2024, the group expressed skepticism about whether Hamas terrorists raped Israeli victims, despite widely available evidence showing rampant sexual violence, and it has since continued criticizing Israel.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn recent months,\u201d the institute \u201chas veered into strident anti-Israel political advocacy, supporting anti-Israel campus protests and reaching millions of viewers with social media posts that falsely accuse Israel of genocide,\u201d\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0on Nov. 13, 2024, first exposing the group\u2019s activity and the Lemkin family\u2019s opposition to it doing so under their name.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJoseph Lemkin, a New Jersey lawyer who is related to Raphael Lemkin, said he was unfamiliar with the institute until being informed of it by\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>,\u201d the report said.<\/span><\/p>\n That was when Joseph Lemkin became determined to remove his family name from the institute.<\/span><\/p>\n Most recently, more than 100 distinguished scholars, led by Dr. Rafael Medoff, director of The David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, based in Washington, DC,\u00a0penned a letter to Lemkin<\/a>, expressing support for his effort.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs scholars who have written about the Holocaust or other genocides, we share your family\u2019s concern about extremists exploiting Raphael Lemkin\u2019s name to attack Israel,\u201d said the letter, which was dated Jan. 25 but not publicized until Jan. 30. \u201cWe support your efforts to reclaim the legacy of Raphael Lemkin from those who are besmirching his ideals and goals.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Days later, in response, von Joeden-Forgey discussed the \u201cridiculous letter\u201d in a\u00a0LinkedIn post<\/a>. \u201cIt is always a pity to realize how much ugliness they [the letters\u2019 cosigners] hid behind their \u2018Holocaust & Genocide Studies\u2019 fa\u00e7ade,\u201d she wrote on Feb. 2, adding that she was \u201cdisgusted\u201d by them.<\/span><\/p>\n Raising six points, von Joeden-Forgey claimed:<\/span><\/p>\n 1) The idea that Raphael Lemkin would support Israel\u2019s actions is ridiculous and itself constitutes a disparagement of his work and memory.<\/strong><\/p>\n 2) There are family members who support our work, so Joseph Lemkin \u2014 the only family member we have heard of who does not \u2014 does not represent \u201cthe family\u201d or \u201cthe name.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n 3) There has never been a good faith effort on Joseph Lemkin\u2019s part to reach out to us to discuss his concerns. This has been a political hit job from the beginning. We have offered to discuss the issue twice. He instead decided to pursue a possible legal action and, when he realized he had no legal standing, he resorted to defaming us to US elected officials, government agencies, and the right-wing press.<\/strong><\/p>\n 4) I would like to ask these \u201cscholars\u201d to let us all know what they have been doing to reduce Palestinian deaths from Israel\u2019s \u201cwar\u201d and, more broadly, to prevent genocide in our world, since they find our work so egregious.<\/strong><\/p>\n 5) These \u201cscholars\u201d should be truly ashamed for calling our institute \u201cextremist\u201d in a political environment where they well know the impact that word can and probably will have on the freedoms of the US-based members of this institute. I consider these \u201cscholars\u201d to be supporting the US government\u2019s assault on constitutional rights, particularly the First Amendment. They are, in other words, part of the genocide problem not the solution. But, of course, they must know that, considering that they should have read all about how these things work.<\/strong><\/p>\n 6) Blind support for Israel\u2019s actions is genocide denial.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0\u2018<\/span><\/strong>A Complete Lie\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Joseph Lemkin told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>\u00a0that the family is supportive of his stand \u2014 \u201cexcept for one lone wolf. He used to live in the United States, and now he criticizes the US and criticizes Israel and has sent me some nasty emails, but he has never come out in public on the issue as far as I know.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTo the contrary,\u201d he continued. \u201cMy brother, Benjamin, has spoken out publicly; my sister, Rachel Memeles, and all of our children as well as my mother, who was married to my father, Daniel Lemkin \u2014 Raphael Lemkin\u2019s first cousin. They were born in the same town.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy father was a Holocaust survivor. His parents and three brothers were all killed in the Holocaust. Raphael had no descendants; he didn\u2019t have children of his own.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n . \n Joseph also adamantly rejected the claim that he never reached out to the institute to discuss his concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBeyond being a complete lie, we have reached out through our counsel,\u201d he said. \u201cIn actuality, they had suggested, through their attorney, that they would consider changing the name from the Lemkin Institute.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n According to the attorneys\u2019 letter, sent on behalf of Joseph Lemkin and the European Jewish Association and obtained by\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>,\u00a0the institute may face legal action<\/a>\u00a0if it does not accept a name change voluntarily.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe are prepared to move forward to compel the Lemkin Institute to cease using Raphael Lemkin\u2019s name and likeness,\u201d it said. \u201cWe have recently read in one of your press releases, however, that you would consider dropping the Lemkin and simply call yourself The Institute for Genocide Prevention, Inc. If that is indeed the case, our issue with you is resolved. We certainly prefer to amicably resolve this matter. Please advise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo, our attorneys reached out to them, but we never heard back,\u201d Joseph Lemkin told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that stands out,\u201d he continued, \u201cis that if you go on their website, you\u2019ll see they sell Palestinian flags and mugs. This is an activist organization \u2014 not a principled organization looking to identify genocide. They\u00a0have an agenda<\/a>, and they\u2019re trying to push it. That\u2019s my concern. It doesn\u2019t seem that they\u2019re starting on a balanced playing field.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe reached out directly, through our counsel, at least twice \u2014 most recently in October and got no response,\u201d he added.<\/span><\/p>\n Joseph\u2019s brother, Benjamin Lemkin, similarly told\u00a0The Algemeiner\u00a0<\/em>that he opposes the institute\u2019s use of his family name.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s completely obvious that Raphael Lemkin would not have been accusing Israel of genocide in any fashion,\u201d he said. \u201cBy all objective standards, Israel has done more to protect civilians than any other country fighting wars \u2014 even when those countries are not fighting wars of an existential nature. In this case, however, Israel is fighting a war of an existential nature. If anything, perhaps Raphael Lemkin, who was\u00a0a Zionist and a strong advocate<\/a>\u00a0of Jewish survival, would have felt that Israel possibly is not doing enough to defend itself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He continued, \u201cGiven the fact that Raphael Lemkin was motivated in part by the scourge of antisemitism, he would have immediately identified all of these malicious genocide accusations as constituting an antisemitic blood libel.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am very proud to be part of this effort against the Lemkin Institute, and I have never heard of any family member supporting the institute,\u201d he said, noting that he was quoted in November 2025 by\u00a0The National Post<\/em>, a Canadian newspaper, expressing his agreement with his brother\u2019s initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf Raphael, who died in 1959, were alive today, he definitely would have been outraged,\u201d he told the\u00a0Post<\/em>. \u201cIt is an abuse of his work \u2026 This is a terrible thing they\u2019ve done to the Lemkin name.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Medoff, the Holocaust scholar who spearheaded the letter in support of Joseph Lemkin, lamented how the institute attacked his colleagues.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sad that the Lemkin Institute\u2019s president would stoop to questioning the scholarly credentials of some of the most prominent academics in the world of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, including authors of major texts in the field, chairs of university departments and Holocaust centers, and editors of leading publications,\u201d Medoff told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>, noting that in her LinkedIn post, von Joeden-Forgey put the word \u201cscholars\u201d in quotes. \u201cShe seems to be saying that you don\u2019t even qualify as a scholar unless you agree with her anti-Israel views. What a remarkable position to take.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Algemeiner<\/i>\u00a0reached out to von Joeden-Forgey for comment but did not receive a response.<\/span><\/p>\n Atara Nurenberger Beck<\/strong> made aliyah in 2011 from Toronto, where she had many years of journalistic experience. She is currently a freelance writer and editor.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Zawarto\u015b\u0107 publikowanych artyku\u0142\u00f3w i materia\u0142\u00f3w nie reprezentuje pogl\u0105d\u00f3w ani opinii Reunion’68,<\/em> Holocaust Scholars Are \u2018Part of the Genocide Problem,\u2019 Says Anti-Israel Group Under Fire for Using Lemkin Name Atara Beck Raphael Lemkin being interviewed on Feb. 13, 1949. Photo: Screenshot The head of a stridently anti-Israel group has attacked dozens of prominent Holocaust scholars who called out the US-based nonprofit for\u00a0\u201cexploiting\u201d the name of Raphael Lemkin\u00a0\u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[33,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127883"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127959,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127883\/revisions\/127959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Screen-Shot-2024-11-13-at-10.42.43-AM.jpg\")
Raphael Lemkin being interviewed on Feb. 13, 1949. Photo: Screenshot<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
\n![](\"https:\/\/www.algemeiner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BC%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%86%D1%8F_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%96_%D0%A0%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BB%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%BC%D0%BA%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B01.jpg\")
Raphael Lemkin\u2019s grave, Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, Queens, New York. Photo: Oberezny, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u2018A Terrible Thing They\u2019ve Done to the Lemkin Name\u2019<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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