People walk on the campus of Yeshiva University in New York City on Aug. 30. A Supreme Court ruling supersedes a New York state court’s ruling requiring the university to recognize the Freedom Alliance. proud YU.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
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People walk on the campus of Yeshiva University in New York City on Aug. 30. A Supreme Court ruling supersedes a New York state court’s ruling requiring the university to recognize the Freedom Alliance. proud YU.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Yeshiva University in New York City will have to continue to recognize an LGBTQ student organization while the school argues a lawsuit against the group in state court, The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled.
Wednesday’s Opinion issued a New York state court ruling ordering the university to recognize YU Pride Alliance.
It also forced the university to exhaust at least two other legal avenues in New York before returning to the Supreme Court to handle its case.
Opinion that Yeshiva University could return to the nation’s highest court sooner if the lower courts in New York fail to come up with a quick resolution of the case or temporary relief. time.
But the four judges in The Supreme Court’s conservative bloc disagreed with the majority opinion, arguing that New York was ignoring the religious rights of the Jewish school.
Yeshiva University, founded in 1886, describe itself as a “multifaceted institution integrating the knowledge of Western civilization and the rich treasures of Jewish culture.”
Justice Samuel Alito wrote, “The First Amendment guarantees the freedom to exercise religion, and if that provision means anything, it prohibits a State from enforcing its preferred interpretation of Scripture. However, that is exactly what New York did in this case, and it is disappointing that much of this Court refuses to provide relief.”
According to court records, YU Pride Alliance sued the university last year after the school refused to officially recognize the student group on the grounds that it contradicted the school’s interpretation of the Torah.
A New York State Trial Court sided with the student group, ruling that Yeshiva University violated New York City Human Rights Law, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender in public rooms. A state appeals court later upheld that ruling.
