Diverse religious groups, legal scholars, and Jewish groups ask Supreme Court to protect Yeshiva University Ten friend-of-the-court briefs urge Supreme Court to protect religious identity of Jewish University

WASHINGTON– There was an enormous outpouring of support today for Yeshiva University’s emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, with ten friend-of-the-court briefs filed by leading legal scholars and organizations from across the religious spectrum, including Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other faith traditions. On August 29, 2022, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty filed an emergency application to the Supreme Court after the New York courts said that the nation’s oldest Jewish university could not be considered religious. 

When the University decided that it could not officially recognize an LGBTQ Pride Alliance club on campus due to its commitment to Torah values, a group of students sued the school. The lawsuit and ensuing lower court rulings in YU Pride Alliance v. Yeshiva University seek to force Yeshiva University to compromise its religious mission.  

“This is a broad and monumental showing of support for Yeshiva at the highest court in our nation,” said Eric Baxter, VP and senior counsel at Becket. “It shows that this case does not just concern Yeshiva’s individual case but the right of all religious institutions to carry out their missions without interference from the civil court system. We are hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will recognize that social reality and intervene.”  

Highlights from the wide array of friend-of-the-court briefs include:

• Professor Douglas Laycock of the University of Virginia
   
• The President of the Conference of European Rabbis, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, a Rabbinical Judge of the Upper Beth Din of Israel, and the Rabbinical Council of America
   
• The National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Policy (COLPA), Agudath Harabbanim of the United States and Canada, Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Alliance of America, Torah Umesorah (National Society for Hebrew Day Schools)

• The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and the Coalition for Jewish Values
   
• Agudath Israel of America
   
• The Association of Classical and Christian Schools, Association of Christian Schools International, International Alliance for Christian Education, Association for Biblical Higher Education, and American Association of Christian Schools
   
• Professor Richard Epstein of New York University
   
• Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

• A coalition of religious groups including the Archdiocese of New York, United States Council of Catholic Bishops, Houston Baptist University, Liberty University, Wheaton College, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University, Biola University, and Cedarville University
   
• Professor Phillip Hamburger of Columbia University and the New Civil Liberties Alliance
   

The full list can be found here.

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, contact Ryan Colby at media@becketlaw.org or 202-349-7219. Interviews can be arranged in English, Chinese, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.