Yeshiva University, a Modern Orthodox Jewish college in New York City, announced Friday night that it is suspending all undergraduate groups in reaction to a Supreme Court order that it recognize an LGBTQ student organization, the New York Times reports.
In an August decision, the Supreme Court sided with a lower court ruling that the University must recognize an undergraduate student group supporting LGBTQ members of the university community. Yeshiva University had claimed that it is a religious group and therefore excluded from having to adhere to New York City’s anti-discrimination laws; state and federal courts have ruled that the University is an educational institution, not a religious one, and therefore must adhere to city and state anti-discrimination laws which would require them to recognize the LGBTQ student group.
In an unsigned letter sent to students, the University said that with the Jewish holidays coming up, it was suspending operation of undergraduate student groups while deciding how to “follow the road map provided by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“Every faith-based university in the country has the right to work with its students, including its L.G.B.T.Q. students, to establish the clubs, places and spaces that fit within its faith tradition,” Rabbi Ari Berman, the institution’s president posted online in the statement. “Yeshiva University simply seeks that same right of self-determination.”