Nancy Solomon: I'm Nancy Solomon in for Tanzina Vega and you're listening to The Takeaway. This week, students at Yeshiva University in New York filed a lawsuit against their institution because the university has refused to formally recognize an LGBTQ club. For over two years, students have been trying to formally create a gay-straight alliance club at the university, which is a private Modern Orthodox Jewish research school in New York. The school has reportedly received funds from New York State and by refusing to recognize the LGBTQ student club, students claim it has violated their human rights.

This instance raises questions on private religious institutions and the future of LGBTQ acceptance within the Orthodox Jewish community. I'm joined now by Simone Somekh, correspondent for The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Simone, great to have you with us.

Simone Somekh: Thank you, Nancy, for having me.

Nancy Solomon: Tell us about what the students have been demanding the past two years. What led us to this point?

Simone Somekh: Students at Yeshiva University in New York City have been trying to form an officially recognized LGBTQ club. It was originally meant to be called the Gay-Straight Alliance club. Over and over the university's administration has been refusing to recognize the club and give it all the benefits and privilege that over 100 other clubs of undergraduate students have.

Nancy Solomon: What has the university said in response to the students' attempts to get the club recognized?

Simone Somekh: The university at first told the students that they would not accept a club that would have the terms LGBT or gay in its name, so the students came back on a different semester, on a different occasion with a different name. They called it the YU Alliance Club. Still the university still refused to recognize the club saying that the recognition would cloud the university's nuanced position on the treatment of LGBTQ students. Now, the students have tried many different times. They marched even outside of one of the campuses of Yeshiva University. They formed an outside organization. The students tell me that this was a last resort, the decision to file a lawsuit for discrimination against the university.

Nancy Solomon: It's not hard to understand why they are arguing that they're being discriminated against, but what legal basis do they have to make that argument?

Simone Somekh: This is a very interesting case because the university about 50 years ago registered as a non-sectarian corporation, and therefore, has been receiving state funds as a consequence of that. The students are saying that the university is violating New York City human rights law and is actively discriminating LGBTQ students while in the meantime accepting all sorts of other student clubs, such as Women in STEM or College Republicans, College Democrats, all sorts of clubs that all universities have.

Nancy Solomon: Tell us more about Yeshiva University, for those who aren't familiar with it. Also, what does it mean for them to say they're non-sectarian? What does that mean? Then tell us more about the university overall.

Simone Somekh: Yeshiva University is one of the most prominent Jewish modern orthodox institution in the United States and I would say even in the world. It finds itself in a very tricky position when it comes to LGBTQ issues. It's torn between two currents. On one side, you have the Modern Orthodox world, which is slowly but increasingly becoming more open to the acceptance of LGBTQ Jews and people in general. On the other hand, you have the more traditional Orthodox world, in which this is still a very contentious and controversial issues.

Yeshiva University wants to be accepted by the Orthodox world and does not want to be seen as too modern. However, by registering as a non-sectarian institution, Yeshiva University is not protected as a religious institution. Therefore, the lawsuit says that it should not discriminate against LGBTQ students and it should allow them to have a club.

Nancy Solomon: You mentioned that Modern Orthodox Judaism has become a little more accepting of LGBTQ rights. Tell us a little more about that. In what ways has that movement moved a bit?

Simone Somekh: The traditional interpretation of Jewish law, Halakha, does not allow homosexual relations. Therefore, as in many other religions, the LGBTQ issues have been a very problematic issue. However, as society changes and the newer generations are becoming more and more open on these issues, even in the Modern Orthodox world, you start to see more acceptance, at least more de facto than de jure, I would say. Modern Orthodox rabbis still would not celebrate a gay wedding, however, de facto in the communities and in schools, you start seeing more acceptance and openness.

Nancy Solomon: Tell us about some of the students who are filing the lawsuit. What do we know about them?

Simone Somekh: The students have been very passionate about this issue. They say that it's important for them to have a club, also for the university to send a message of acceptance to LGBTQ students who do not at the moment feel comfortable coming out of the closet at university with the rabbis, with the faculty, with their own families. By not accepting this club, the university, they claim, is sending a message of intolerance and it's fostering an environment in which students will not feel comfortable coming out.

Nancy Solomon: Where do you see this going? If the students were to win the lawsuit, does this then expand out to, say, the many, many Christian colleges there are all over New York, if not all over the country?

Simone Somekh: I think this lawsuit has the potential to become quite a high-profile case because the university does not seem to want to back down and the students are very, very determined to win. I've been speaking to their lawyers and I've read the lawsuit, I think they have a strong case against the university. It's going to be really interesting to see how the university plans to defend itself. For now at the moment, the university has put out a statement saying that their policies on harassment and discrimination against students on the basis of all protected classifications, including LGBTQ students, are strong and vigorously enforced. However, they still remain firm in their position that they will not recognize such club on campus.

Nancy Solomon: Simone Somekh is a correspondent for The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Simone, thanks so much for joining us.

Simone Somekh: Thank you, Nancy.

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