Thank God for Yeshiva University

And Rabbi Daniel Lapin

Heroic administrators at Yeshiva University have disallowed the creation of a student club devoted to the pursuits of the LGBTQ. A New York court ordered this university to recognize this club, the YU Pride Alliance. When the Supreme Court declined to overrule this court decision, Yeshiva University cancelled all student clubs, including that one.

It is simply not done, in this neck of the woods, to cross the LGBTQ movement in any manner, shape or form.

For those of you who are not au current with the goings on in higher education, Yeshiva’s decision is like the pope renouncing Catholicism or the atheists praying to God. It is simply not done, in this neck of the woods, to cross the LGBTQ movement in any manner, shape or form. Hats off (so to speak; religious Jewish men rarely take them off) to Yeshiva University for sticking to its principles.

Foundational to the worldview of Yeshiva University is that all of civilization depends upon the male-female relationship.

What is more, foundational to the worldview of Yeshiva University and the Bible-believing Jews it serves, is that all of civilization depends upon the male-female relationship. Of doctrinal importance are the words “…male and female He created them…” (Genesis 1:27). This serves to underpin not only the bedrock of civilization but even supplies the blueprint for grasping the God-Human love relationship which in the book of Song of Songs, is depicted allegorically as a love affair between a man and a woman. A pork-eaters club would drive less of a dagger into the heart of this institution. Should the Yeshiva University cafeteria be required to serve non-Kosher food, if some students demand it? Better that than giving official sanction to the YU Pride Alliance.

There are good and sufficient reasons for this series of decisions on the part of this university. Adherents of the LGBTQ philosophy in particular, plus all other elements of the “woke” movement, are predicated upon the idea that straight white males exploit all others in society. And this victimhood goes double or even triple for those who can, intersectionally, check off two or three or more of these categories, for example, a disabled black lesbian.

In the priorities of the politically correct, LGBTQ ranks higher in victimology status certainly than women, and even blacks.

In the priorities of the politically correct, LGBTQ ranks higher in victimology status certainly than women, and even blacks. To take on this sacrosanct group thus takes even more than ordinary courage. Of course, there is no evidence that straight white males are responsible for the relative plight of any other groups. This is just a matter of faith for the “progressives.” Just because white males exceed the accomplishments of others does not in the slightest demonstrate any untoward exploitation.

Numerous voices have been raised in defense of YU’s courageous act, particularly from conservatives (although Justice Sonia Sotomayor has granted a stay from a New York Court ordering this university to recognize the YU Pride Alliance as an official club). The difficulty is that all of them support this university solely on the basis of religious freedom.

But why should religious folk be granted a right, the right of free association in this case, denied to others?

But why should religious folk be granted a right, the right of free association in this case, denied to others? Suppose the administration of Atheist University set up a policy of prohibiting LGBTQ clubs (or, for that matter, compelling all students to join that one club, and prohibiting all other student associations). Why should such folk not have the right to do just that? To be sure, they would find it difficult in today’s market to garner much of a student body. But that is an entirely different matter, one of practicality. Here, we are talking deontology, or rights and justice.

None of us will be fully free if we are not all allowed to set up institutions of higher learning, or, indeed, any other type of businesses, in which we pick and choose who shall be associated with us. Three cheers for Yeshiva University, of course. But our support for their free association rights should by no means be limited to religious based organizations.
 
 

About the Co-author:  Rabbi Daniel Lapin

Rabbi Daniel Lapin, known widely as America’s Rabbi, is a noted rabbinic scholar, best-selling author and TV host. As one of America’s most eloquent speakers, his ability to extract practical life principles from the Bible and transmit them in a life-changing and captivating manner has brought thousands of Jews and Christians closer to their respective faiths. Pairing his inheritance as a descendant of a multi-generational rabbinical family with his background in science and business, he teaches ancient Jewish wisdom in an unparalleled manner.

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Pegs:

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/17/1123638157/supreme-court-yeshiva-university-lgbtq-club

defense of YU: https://www.google.com/search?q=yeshiva+and+LBGTQ&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS963US963&oq=yeshi&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0i131i433i512j46i131i433i512j69i57j0i131i395i433l2j0i131i395i433i512j46i131i395i433i512j0i271l2.3093j1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Sotomayor https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/09/lgbtq-yeshiva-university-00055994

Yeshiva University Can Bar L.G.B.T. Club for Now, Justice Rules https://nyti.ms/3BubfJW

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About the Author: Walter Block

Walter Block is the Harold E. Wirth Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair in Economics at Loyola University, senior fellow of the Mises Institute, and regular columnist for LewRockwell.com.