UPDATE: Jewish university suspends all student group activities in light of Supreme Court's ruling
The announcement to suspend all groups came through an email sent from the administration to all the students and faculty.
Campus Reform reported on the Supreme Court ruling in a 5-4 decision that it would not provide an injunction which would have allowed the Jewish university to not recognize LGBTQ student groups.
In a recent development, Yeshiva University (YU) announced on Sept. 16 that the Jewish university would suspend all student club activities only two days after the Supreme Court ruled that the school must recognize LGBTQ student groups on campus.
The move would allow YU to stall recognizing the student group YU Pride Alliance without discriminating against one group specifically, as the university plans a course of action for the remainder of the lawsuit.
The announcement came through an email sent from the administration to all YU students and faculty.
“Considering the upcoming Chagim, the university will hold off on all undergraduate activities while it immediately takes steps to follow the roadmap provided by the U.S. Supreme Court to protect YU’s religious freedom.”
Chagim roughly translates to holidays in Hebrew and, in this case, likely referring to the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 25 and Yom Kippur on Oct. 4.
[RELATED: Jewish university stands up for its religious values in court]
The email did not say when the university planned on lifting the suspension and so far no further announcement has been made, however, a YU spokesperson told Campus Reform, “Our lawyers submitted the briefs on Friday as directed by the US Supreme Court. We anticipate a quick conclusion in the courts and the start of clubs soon.”
Campus Reform reported on the Supreme Court ruling in a 5-4 decision that it would not provide an injunction preventing the Jewish university from being forced to recognize LGBTQ student groups for the duration of the lawsuit.
The majority ruled that it was too early in the process for YU to request injunctive relief from the higher court, recommending the university first appeal to the state courts.
Justice Alito wrote the dissenting opinion arguing that the majority’s ruling would force Yeshiva to comply with an order that violated their rights under the First Amendment.
“The First Amendment guarantees the right to the free exercise of religion, and if that provision means anything, it prohibits a State from enforcing its own preferred interpretation of Holy Scripture,” he wrote.
[RELATED: Theater professor files lawsuit after being forced to use preferred pronouns]
YU’s President Rabbi Ari Berman announced on Sept. 15 that the university would follow the Supreme Court’s direction in the matter, “[t]he Supreme Court has laid out the roadmap for us to find expedited relief and we will follow their instructions.”
YU is currently engaged in a lawsuit with YU Pride Alliance from 2021 after the university could not recognize the student group without “violat[ing] its sincere religious beliefs.”
Campus Reform contacted every group mentioned and will update this article accordingly.
Follow @kliseanderson on Twitter.
