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<\/a><\/p>\nMayerson Hall at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. (Warren LeMay via Creative Commons)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It was the latest escalation in a pitched battle between Hebrew Union College and the state attorney general\u2019s office, which has accused HUC of violating nonprofit law by shuttering degree-granting programs on its historic Cincinnati campus.<\/p>\n
The suit, HUC argues, \u201cviolates the First Amendment by entangling government and religion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The suit was originally filed in April by then-Ohio AG Dave Yost \u2014 his second against the college related to its controversial plan to wind down its Cincinnati operations in favor of its New York and Los Angeles campuses. Yost claimed HUC\u2019s actions in Cincinnati misled its donors by leaving a city where they were actively fundraising to support operations, and also violated its charter, which states that the school would \u201cpermanently maintain\u201d a residence there. <\/p>\n
The state seeks to seize HUC\u2019s assets in Ohio and redirect them to a new, yet-to-be-decided nonprofit with a similar mission; an upstart rabbinical school founded by HUC alums says it wants them. <\/p>\n
Such a move \u201cis an unconstitutional and illegal governmental assault upon religion,\u201d HUC\u2019s strongly worded motion reads. <\/p>\n
It continues, \u201cThe Attorney General has no role in dictating the religious affairs of institutions like HUC. The Court should reject his overreach into religious matters and should dismiss the Complaint because it is unconstitutional and unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n
HUC also argues its vote to shutter the Cincinnati campus was done in full compliance with the law, adding that it intends to maintain the campus\u2019s other assets, including the Klau Library, the American Jewish Archives and the Skirball Museum. In addition, citing a passage in the Torah that states \u201cGod will come to his people wherever they welcome him,\u201d the school argues that considering \u201cJewish demographic realities\u201d is part of its religious mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese decisions were made thoughtfully and responsibly to ensure the long-term success of the institution and our ability to continue graduating strong Jewish leaders,\u201d HUC president Andrew Rehfeld said in a statement accompanying the motion. The lawsuit, he added, \u201cimproperly seeks to interfere in the decisions of a religious organization, and this cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yost himself resigned as AG this week to join the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group that, in 2022, represented a Tennessee adoption agency that refused to foster a child to a Jewish couple. The suit against HUC continues under the state AG\u2019s office.<\/p>\n