BREAKING: Jewish university creates new student group as a ‘traditional Orthodox alternative to YU Pride Alliance'
YU’s President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman said in the announcement that the Jewish university is ‘eager’ to support students in their pursuit of living an ‘authentic Torah’ life.
The YU Pride Alliance Club at the center of the lawsuit did not appear to be impressed by the religious university’s olive branch.
In a Monday press release, Yeshiva University in New York announced that it had approved a new student group designed to “support its LGBTQ undergraduates” while also serving as a “traditional Orthodox alternative to YU Pride Alliance.”
The Jewish university is establishing the “Kol Yisrael Areivim Club” for YU’s students. The name of the club is in Aramaic and translates to “all of Israel are responsible for each other.”
“This newly founded undergraduate student club, which emerges from Yeshiva’s principles and its students’ interest for a club under traditional Orthodox auspices,” the press release read. “It also reflects input and perspectives from conversations between Yeshiva’s rabbis, educators, and current and past undergraduate LGBTQ students.”
Students who attend the club will be able to “grow in their personal journeys…share their experiences, host events, and support one another while benefiting from the full resources of the Yeshiva community – all within the framework of Halacha – as all other student clubs.”
YU’s President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman said in the announcement that the Jewish university is “eager” to support students in their pursuit of living an “authentic Torah” life.
“[W]e hope that this Torah-based initiative with a new student club tailored to Yeshiva’s undergraduate LGBTQ students will provide them with meaningful support to do so,” he stated.
The YU Pride Alliance Club at the center of the lawsuit did not appear to be impressed by the religious university’s olive branch.
“This is a desperate stunt by Yeshiva University to distract from the growing calls from its donors, alumni, faculty, policymakers, and the business community, who have stood alongside the YU Pride Alliance,” the YU Pride Alliance said in a statement.
The statement continued, “The YU sham is not a club as it was not formed by students, is not led by students, and does not have members; rather, it is a feeble attempt by YU to continue denying LGBTQ students equal treatment as full members of the YU student community.”
The announcement comes after YU and YU Pride Alliance agreed to allow the private university to obtain a stay preventing the school from being forced to recognize the student group during the duration of the appeals process, as reported by Campus Reform.
This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.
Campus Reform contacted Berman and YU, but has not yet received a comment.
Follow @kliseanderson on Twitter.
