Relatives of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish Jewish jurist who coined the term “genocide,” say a new set of letters from prominent US rabbis supports their request for Pennsylvania officials to review how a US nonprofit is using the “Lemkin” name.
The development follows The Jerusalem Post’s September 29, 2025, report that the family filed a complaint in Pennsylvania seeking an administrative review of the organization’s use of its name and its public materials.
In letters sent this week to Gov. Josh Shapiro and state officials, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, joined several rabbinic leaders in arguing that using the “Lemkin” name to accuse Israel of genocide misrepresents the history and moral intent behind Lemkin’s work.
Letters from Rabbis Yitzchak Lasry, Tal Peretz, and Aryeh Ralbag were also submitted, along with additional letters from other US rabbis.
The family points to an “Active Genocide Alert” the Lemkin Institute posted on October 13, 2023, just days after the Hamas massacre in Israel and before Israeli ground forces entered Gaza. In that alert, the Institute warned that the crisis was “dangerously likely to descend into the mass murder pattern of genocide” and referred to “the further escalation of this inherently genocidal situation in Israel-Palestine.”
Invoking Lemkin’s name placed Israel in frame of genocide before assault, family argues
The family argues that invoking Raphael Lemkin’s name in such a document, at that early stage, effectively placed Israel in the frame of genocide even before any ground operation began in Gaza, and that it turns his legacy against the Jewish state. Their filing asks the state to examine how “Lemkin” appears in registrations and public communications and to take steps that prevent confusion going forward.
Joseph Lemkin, a New Jersey attorney, partner at Stark & Stark, and founder of the Jewish Bar Association of New Jersey, told the Post that the family’s aim is clarity and transparency. “Our request is narrow and practical. We are asking the state to verify how my uncle’s name is being used so the public is not misled,” Lemkin said.
He added that the issue is personal as well as historical. “Raphael Lemkin’s name grew out of loss and responsibility. It should not be presented in ways that turn his legacy against the Jewish people,” he added. Lemkin expressed gratitude to the rabbinic signatories.
“We appreciate Rabbi Marvin Hier’s leadership as founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and we are thankful to the rabbis who added their voices. Their support helps keep the Lemkin name aligned with the history it represents,” he said. The organization at the center of the dispute denied the allegations.
Raphael Lemkin introduced the word “genocide” in 1944 and helped inspire the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. The family’s September 29 filing, first reported by The Jerusalem Post, seeks a state review under existing rules that govern charitable entities and the use of names in public-facing materials.