The European Jewish Association (EJA) today issued an urgent call to U.S. Antisemitism Czar Leo Terrell, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and relevant federal authorities to open a formal investigation into the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention for its repeated use of the term genocide as a weapon against Israel and the global Jewish community.
The EJA alleges that the Lemkin Institute — a Pennsylvania-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2021 — has engaged in advocacy and policy campaigning far beyond the scope of its charitable status, while fueling antisemitism through false and inflammatory accusations targeting the State of Israel.
Weaponizing “Genocide” Against Israel
The Lemkin Institute, named after Raphael Lemkin — the Polish-Jewish scholar who coined the term genocide following the Holocaust — has repeatedly issued statements accusing Israel of genocide, even as Hamas and its Iranian-backed affiliates continue to commit atrocities against Israeli civilians.
“To exploit Raphael Lemkin’s name to accuse the world’s only Jewish state of genocide is not just false — it is profoundly antisemitic,” said Harley Lippman, board member of the European Jewish Association. “This organization’s rhetoric gives moral cover to terrorist movements and has contributed directly to the surge in antisemitic violence and hostility across American campuses and cities.”
The EJA argues that such misuse of the genocide framework undermines the memory of the Holocaust, distorts international law, and creates an environment where antisemitism is normalized under the guise of human rights advocacy.
Request for Federal Oversight
The European Jewish Association formally urges:
- Leo Terrell, U.S. Special Envoy and Antisemitism Czar, to investigate the public harm and antisemitic consequences of the Lemkin Institute’s communications and publications.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi and the U.S. Department of Justice to assess whether the Institute’s conduct constitutes misrepresentation under federal nonprofit law, including dissemination of politically motivated disinformation.
- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to conduct a review of the Lemkin Institute’s Form 990 filings, its compliance with 501(c)(3) regulations, and whether its policy and issue advocacy violates the limits imposed on tax-exempt charitable entities.
“A 501(c)(3) must serve the public interest — not a political agenda,” said Lippman. “When an organization uses its tax-exempt platform to delegitimize Israel and incite antisemitism, it becomes a matter for both moral and federal accountability. And this at a time when there are a handful of actual genocides in the world, say Nigeria and others.”
Background
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention was founded in 2021 with the stated purpose of preventing genocide worldwide. However, since October 7, 2023, the organization has issued a series of highly politicized statements exclusively targeting Israel while remaining silent on ongoing genocides against Christian and minority communities in Africa and the Middle East.
The EJA asserts that this selective focus demonstrates a pattern of bias and weaponization of humanitarian language that betrays the principles for which Raphael Lemkin stood and calls into question whether the organization’s activities qualify as charitable under federal law.
About European Jewish Association (EJA)
The European Jewish Association (EJA) is one of Europe’s leading Jewish advocacy organizations, representing communities and leaders across the continent. The EJA works to combat antisemitism, strengthen Jewish identity, and ensure fair representation of Israel in public and political discourse. For more information, visit ejassociation.eu.
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