Rav Schachter, President Berman Issue Statements on Hareni as Some Settlement Details Remain Unclear

Yeshiva University Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter issued a public statement Tuesday evening implying he wasn’t consulted before YU’s recent settlement with the YU Pride Alliance and stating that he does not support the establishment of “additional” LGBTQ clubs in Orthodox institutions.

The statement, which was read by Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yaakov Neuberger at the RIETS dinner, was accompanied by a statement read by Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mordechai Willig in the name of YU President Ari Berman, apologizing to “students and parents, alumni and friends, faculty and Rabbis” for the way the news of the settlement and the new club “was rolled out.” 

The Commentator has confirmed with individuals familiar with both sides of the lawsuit that secret details of the agreement between YU and the Pride Alliance remain sealed, and can only first be released around two weeks following the settlement.

The statements come days after YU and the YU Pride Alliance settled a four-year lawsuit over the university’s refusal to recognize the Pride Alliance as an official undergraduate club. As part of the settlement, YU and the plaintiffs agreed to instead establish “Hareni,” a new student club run by current undergraduates and described by both parties as operating “in accordance with the approved guidelines of Yeshiva University’s senior rabbis.” 

In 2022, YU announced the creation of a new club called “Kol Yisrael Areivim” for “LGBTQ students striving to live authentic Torah lives.” The club was announced without involving or informing students and never formally came into existence. At the time, Rav Schachter was quoted by YU as giving his blessing to the proposed club. In his statement Tuesday, he expressed regret for that decision.

“Two and a half years ago, when I was last consulted, I gave my blessing to a Yeshiva University initiative to help students struggling with problems of same sex attraction and gender identity,” Rav Schachter wrote. “My position, then, as now, emphatically rejects the ideology, lifestyle and behaviors which the LGBTQ term represents.

“My position then, as now, is that all relevant prohibitions (homosexual behavior, same sex marriage, castration, etc.) obviously must be uncompromisingly upheld. Simultaneously, all halachically legitimate means of support should be provided to struggling students to foster and sustain their uncompromising commitment to all of the above.

“I gave my blessing to providing guidance and support in maintaining full, uncompromising shmiras ha-mitzvos to this sacred goal—and nothing more,” the statement continued. “Experience has attested that allowing the initiative to take the form of a club has and continues to create confusion. I very much regret that I did not previously recognize this factor. Establishing any additional club in any Orthodox institution will only add to that confusion and must be avoided.”

Berman’s statement, which was later emailed to the student body, apologized for confusion the agreement caused and emphasized that YU has not changed its position on LGBTQ-related issues. It also attempted to clarify the parameters of the approved club.

“Over the past few days there has been much confusion about YU’s policies following the announcement of Hareni as an undergraduate student club,” Berman wrote. “Instead of clarity, it sowed confusion. Even more egregiously, misleading ‘news’ articles said that Yeshiva had reversed its position, which is absolutely untrue. These are very serious matters that go to the core of our religious beliefs.

“The Yeshiva has always conveyed that what a Pride club represents is antithetical to the undergraduate program in which the traditional view of marriage and genders being determined at birth are transmitted,” he continued. “The Yeshiva never could and never would sanction such an undergraduate club and it is due to this that we entered litigation.”

According to Berman, the new club was created in recognition of “students who are striving to live authentic, uncompromising halakhic lives,” and was agreed upon “by all of the parties to be in accordance with halacha, consistent with the rabbinic guidelines of the senior Roshei Yeshiva.” 

“Last week,” he added, “the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against YU accepted to run Hareni, instead of what they were originally suing us for, moved to end the case, and the case has been dismissed. For years, this has been a deeply painful episode for so many people in our Yeshiva family. I am pleased that at this time, it is drawing to a close.”

Berman’s statement reflects a disagreement between the parties in the lawsuit that has been in the news since the settlement was first announced. 

According to a New York Times article published Thursday, YU spokesperson Hanan Eisenman said that the plaintiffs had been informed of and agreed to the creation of a club identical to the Kol Yisrael Areivim proposal in 2022. “We are pleased that our current undergraduate students will be leading the club announced today, which is the same club approved by our senior rabbis two and a half years ago,” he told the Times. The joint statement from both parties on YUNews was later updated to include this statement from Eisenman.

Despite Eisenman’s claims, the Times nevertheless described YU’s agreement to the settlement as a “reversal,” a claim that Berman described as “misleading” and “absolutely untrue” in Tuesday’s statement.

According to the Times, Zak Sawyer, a spokesperson for the plaintiffs, rejected Eisenman’s claim, with the Times reporting that the settlement went “far beyond” what YU had proposed in 2022.

“Hareni has secured written guarantees ensuring it has the same rights and privileges as other student clubs, including access to campus spaces, official student event calendars and the ability to use ‘L.G.B.T.Q.’ in its public materials — none of which existed under YU’s prior ‘initiative,’” Sawyer told the Times. 

However, besides for “written guarantees” and student involvement, it has not been specified by anyone on the plaintiffs’ side whether the settlement actually requires YU to host events that it wouldn’t have permitted under the 2022 proposal or changes the proposed relationship between the club and the roshei yeshiva. It remains unclear exactly what the framework agreed to entails so long as the document containing the conditions of the settlement remains under seal, but YU has maintained consistently since the settlement’s announcement that it mirrors what the university intended for Kol Yisrael Areivim. 

“Hareni is excited to begin its work supporting LGBTQ students and allies. We look forward to sharing club protocols soon and working with the entire community to make the club a success,” Hareni told The Commentator, apparently referring to the settlement details.

A spokesperson for Hareni’s law firm declined to answer any questions about the details related to the agreement, any differences between Hareni and Kol Yisrael Areivim or the statements released by Berman and Rav Schachter. 

This is a developing story.

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Photo Caption: Rosh Yeshiva Rav Hershel Schachter’s statement

Photo Credit: Rabbi Hershel Schachter