Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who oversees New York cases, stayed a state court ruling barring the Orthodox Hebrew University from blocking the group. The court, in its order, said it would have more to say on the matter in the future. Four current and former students filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court last April after the college denied multiple requests to officially register the group as a student club. The plaintiffs argued that not allowing such a group to be recognized along with more than 100 other student clubs was discriminatory and violated New York’s human rights law. New York State Judge Lynn Kotler ruled in favor of the group in June — saying Yeshiva is not a religious corporation under its charter, a category exempt from state anti-discrimination law, so it must formally register the club. New York State Judge Lynn Kotler ruled in favor of the group in June.YU Pride Alliance Higher state courts rejected Yeshiva’s appeals to temporarily derecognize the club while the case is heard on the merits, prompting the university to take its petition to SCOTUS. “We are pleased with Justice Sotomayor’s decision that protects religious freedom and our identity as a leading faith-based academic institution,” said Rabbi Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University. “But make no mistake, we will continue to strive to create an environment that welcomes all students, including those in our LGBTQ community,” said Berman — who added that the administration is in dialogue with students, faculty and rabbis about the creating an “inclusive campus” in accordance with religious values; Mordechai Levovitz, clinical director at Jewish Queer Youth and a Yeshiva University graduate, criticized the university as an “authentic voice” and questioned the legitimacy of the school’s decision not to recognize the group. Four current and former students filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court last April.Getty Images “There are 613 laws in the Torah,” said Mordechai Levovitz, clinical director at Jewish Queer Youth and a graduate of Yeshiva University. “What law is accepting a club of queer people, what law applies to that? Yeshiva is supposed to be a school that teaches Jewish law.’ “Yeshiva U is an authoritative voice,” Levovitz said. “They said that recognizing queer people who can come together, find camaraderie with each other, feel pride is a religious violation.” “It’s not about sex, it’s about teenagers wanting to have lunch together and talk about things that concern them,” he added. Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at The Becket Fund, which represents the university, said: “Yeshiva should not have had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to make such a common sense decision in favor of First Amendment rights. “ The Becket Fund has been involved in other high-profile religious freedom cases, including a Jewish group suing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over COVID-19 restrictions and Hobby Lobby stores opposing a mandate to provide contraceptives to employees on religious grounds, the website her.
