Orthodox Jewish university must recognize LGBTQ+ student club, New York appeals panel says

Yeshiva University said Thursday evening it will challenge a New York State Supreme Court appellate panel ruling that says the Orthodox Jewish university, which requires all students to take classes in the Torah, is not a “religious corporation” and must officially recognize an LGBTQ+ student club to which it has faith-based objections.

The monthslong dispute between Yeshiva University and the Y.U. Pride Alliance centers on the interpretation of New York City’s human rights law and what constitutes a “religious” corporation. Yeshiva is apparently incorporated as an educational institution, which does not have the exemptions religious corporations receive.

“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,” spokesman Hanan Eisenman said via email.

The appellate judges wrote that the school spun off its rabbinical studies program as a separate institution in the 1960s and that Yeshiva University’s educational corporation registration was approved in 1967. 

The panel said Yeshiva doesn’t “qualify for [an] exemption” regarding the application of the LGBTQ+ group even if it’s connected to the rabbinical school.

Any exemption from the human rights law would “apply only to employment, housing and student admissions selections, not to every decision made concerning enrolled students.”

Y.U. Pride has sought recognition from the school as a student organization, but school leaders objected, saying the group’s agenda violates Torah principles. The LGBTQ+ student group argued that the school has a gay student contingent and has already authorized a similar organization for its law school students.

After an earlier round in court, the university initially canceled all student groups and then allowed them to reactivate and said it would establish its own gay student organization. Y.U. Pride and its attorneys persisted, leading to the Dec. 15 ruling.

In September, the Supreme Court declined an emergency appeal involving the case, but four dissenting justices, led by Justice Samuel Alito, said the school could petition the high court again if it loses all its appeals in New York state.

Katie Rosenfeld, an attorney representing Y.U. Pride, said in a statement her clients “welcome” the appellate panel’s decision. 

She said, “We hope that the university will accept the Pride Alliance’s invitation to resolve the lawsuit by finally recognizing an authentic, student-run, mutually acceptable LGBTQ undergraduate student club that operates like all other clubs at YU.”

Rachel Laser, president of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the ruling was a “win for true religious freedom.” The District-based group filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Y.U. Pride.

Ms. Laser said, “The court here did the right thing, reminding Yeshiva University that religious freedom is not a license to discriminate and that it must provide all student clubs — including those of LGBTQ students — with equal treatment and safe spaces under New York’s public accommodations law.”