Yeshiva University abruptly announced Friday that it has suspended all undergraduate club activities. This is the latest ploy in a legal battle by modern Orthodox Jewish colleges to disallow LGBTQ student groups.
The move comes two days after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered colleges to admit student groups. The judge said by a 5-4 vote that the university must first make its case in a New York state court before returning to the Supreme Court.
“If applicants do not seek and receive neither expedited review nor interim relief from the New York courts, they may return to this court,” the Supreme Court order said.
Citing the upcoming Jewish holiday, the university announced mid-afternoon Friday that it would “suspend all undergraduate activities” while planning next steps to “follow the roadmap provided by the U.S. Supreme Court.” I sent a brief, unsigned email stating, “
The university did not say how long the suspension will last or whether it will be reconsidered. I referred to the statement of Rabbi Ali Bahman, who is
“All faith-based universities in the country have the right to work with students, including LGBTQ students, to establish clubs, places and spaces that are compatible with their faith traditions,” Berman said in a statement. “Yeshiva College is just asking for the same right of self-determination.”
Student attorney Katherine Rosenfeld said in an email Friday that the move by the university resembles discriminatory tactics used in the past against other minority groups. “It’s a throwback to 50 years ago when the city of Jackson, Mississippi closed all public swimming pools instead of complying with a court order calling for desegregation,” she said.
The case, which has been watched by religious groups across the country, pits New York’s anti-discrimination laws against the university’s claims that it adheres to religious values.
Friday’s development was the latest in a clash between a prominent Jewish higher education institution and students seeking formal recognition for a club called the YU Pride Alliance that dates back several years.
University officials rejected the group, and several students filed a lawsuit in Manhattan’s Supreme Court under laws against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In June, a court ruled that because Yeshiva was incorporated as an educational institution rather than a religious organization, the university must recognize the group. The university has appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, condemning the decision as an attack on religious freedom.
On Sept. 9, Judge Sonia Sotomayor said the university could ignore the lower court’s ruling because the case could be considered by the Supreme Court. Earlier this week, however, a Supreme Court judge reversed course, directing the university to abide by the lower court’s ruling while the appeal moves through a New York court.
Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr., in writing to opponents of the Supreme Court order, said further challenges were futile and that the majority had seriously harmed the university’s right to religious liberty. Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett supported Justice Alito’s dissenting opinion.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Justices Elena Kagan, Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh, and Justices Ketanjie Brown Jackson voted by majority vote.
Liam Stack contributed to the report.