Court ruling forces Yeshiva to go against Torah teachings
A Jewish university in New York is being forced to recognize an LGBTQ club.
Campus Reform has been covering the case since September.
A New York court of appeals has reaffirmed a previous Supreme Court order that Yeshiva University (YU) must recognize the Yeshiva University Pride Alliance (YU Pride Alliance) as an official university organization and grant it all privileges as such despite the university’s pushback.
The motion, filed on Dec. 15 by the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division First Judicial Department, states that they “reject the contention that recognizing the Pride Alliance as a student club violates Yeshiva’s freedom of expression and association.”
It also says that Yeshiva does not qualify as a university with religious exemption—a right that would allow them the freedom to refuse to recognize the club.
Hanan Eisenman, a Yeshiva University spokesperson, told Campus Reform that “Yeshiva is disappointed in the court’s ruling and will continue on appeal to defend against the claim that we are not a religious institution.”
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The motion by the New York appeals court affirmed the original ruling of a lower court on June 24.
This is currently the latest update in the ongoing struggle between Yeshiva University and the legal system. Campus Reform first reported on Sept. 7 when Yeshiva was sued by the YU Pride Alliance and filed for an injunction to pause the original court ruling.
Though the court recognized and granted the injunction on Sept. 9 as reported by Campus Reform, the case quickly changed course. On Sept. 14, another ruling forced Yeshiva to formally recognize the club and grant the YU Pride Alliance the same privileges as every other university organization.
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Yeshiva responded by announcing that they would be temporarily suspending all student groups on its campus in a Sept. 16 email. However, through the motion filed on Dec. 16, Yeshiva is being forced yet again to recognize the YU Pride Alliance despite its best efforts to avoid doing so.
Campus Reform contacted every university, organization, and individual mentioned. This article will be updated accordingly.
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