NY Times: Yeshiva University Agrees To Recognize LGBTQ Student Group After Five-Year Battle

New York Times, Yeshiva University Recognizes L.G.B.T.Q. Club After Lengthy Battle:

Yeshiva University said on Thursday that it would recognize an L.G.B.T.Q. student club on campus, bringing to an end a bitter years long legal battle over whether the school could deny the group official recognition on religious grounds.

Yeshiva, a Modern Orthodox Jewish institution with campuses in Manhattan and the Bronx, had refused for years to recognize the club, which had been known as the Yeshiva University Pride Alliance. The case made its way through state and federal courts, even reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, and was closely watched by religious organizations and religious freedom groups.

But on Thursday, its administration said in a statement that it and the students had “reached an agreement, and the litigation is ending.” As part of the settlement, the students said the Pride Alliance would be renamed Hareni, a religious term they had suggested.

In a statement, the school said the club “will seek to support L.G.B.T.Q. students and their allies and will operate in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis.” ...

The battle at Yeshiva University had brought one of the country’s most liberal cities to the front line of a nationwide debate over religious freedom and civil rights and whether houses of worship, religiously affiliated organizations or even pious individuals could be compelled to provide public accommodations to people with differing views.

Inside Higher Ed, Yeshiva U Recognizes New LGBTQ+ Student Group but Is Still Against ‘Pride’ Clubs:

Less than a week after Yeshiva University agreed to recognize an LGBTQ+ student club as part of a legal settlement, university president Ari Berman apologized for the way the university conveyed the announcement and stressed that “pride” clubs still run counter to the values of the Modern Orthodox Jewish university, Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. He emphasized that the newly approved club would function “in accordance with halacha,” or Jewish law.

“I deeply apologize to the members of our community—our students and parents, alumni and friends, faculty and Rabbis—for the way the news was rolled out,” Berman, a rabbi, wrote in an email to students Tuesday. “Instead of clarity, it sowed confusion. Even more egregiously, misleading ‘news’ articles said that Yeshiva had reversed its position, which is absolutely untrue.”

The university has been mired in a legal battle with its LGBTQ+ student group, the YU Pride Alliance, since 2021, when the group sued for official university recognition. Yeshiva said it wasn’t legally required to recognize the club because of Orthodoxy’s stance against same-sex relations. The two parties announced a settlement last week in which students will run an LGBTQ+ club called Hareni that will “operate in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis,” according to a joint statement issued last Thursday.

Prior TaxProf Blog coverage:

• Letter from 48 Cardozo Law Professors, Yeshiva University Should Reverse Its 'Wrong And Unlawful' Ban On LGBTQ+ Student Group (May 2, 2021)
• New York Times, State Judge Rules Yeshiva University Must Recognize LGBTQ Student Club (June 19, 2022)
• Michael Helfand (Pepperdine; Google Scholar), Illegal Discrimination Or Religious Freedom? Understanding Yeshiva University’s Case Against The YU Pride Alliance (Sept. 4, 2022)
• New York Times, Justice Sotomayor Says Yeshiva University Can Bar LGBT Student Club — For Now (Sept. 11, 2022)
• Wall Street Journal, Supreme Court (5-4) Denies Yeshiva University Request To Block State Ruling On Recognition Of LGBTQ Club; Yeshiva Responds By Canceling All Student Groups (Sept. 18, 2022)
• Reuters, Cardozo Law School Fights Fallout From Yeshiva University LGBT Club Case (Sept. 25, 2022)
• Christianity Today, What Christian Colleges Can Glean From The Supreme Court’s ‘Yeshiva’ Case (Oct. 2, 2022)
• Chronicle of Higher Education, ‘Alternative’ or ‘Sham’? Yeshiva U. Created A New LGBTQ Club — But Won’t Recognize The One That Sued (Oct. 30, 2022)
• Inside Higher Ed, Yeshiva University Announces New LGBTQ Club While Continuing Its Legal Battle With The Existing One (Nov. 13, 2022)
• NY Appellate Court Orders Yeshiva University To Recognize LGBTQ Student Group (Jan. 1, 2023)

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