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Three committee chairs in the New York State Senate are questioning Yeshiva University for accepting state funds as a secular institution, The New York Times reported.
Yeshiva is currently fighting in court to refuse to recognize an LGBTQ organization. The university maintains that, as a religious institution, that is its right.
But a letter from legislators notes that at least twice, Yeshiva has said it is a secular institution. By saying so, Yeshiva qualified for $230 million in state funds to build and renovate its facilities.
“I think this matter is worthy of investigation and a potential criminal inquiry, based on what we know from their own court testimony,” said Senator Brad Hoylman, chair of the Judiciary Committee and one of the signatories of the letter. “There is the potential that Yeshiva has misrepresented its mission, and that could constitute fraud.”
Hanan Eisenman, a university spokesman, said in a statement that “the Supreme Court has three times ruled that the government may not restrict funding to religious schools because of their free exercise” of religion. “Yeshiva will continue to defend the right of its students to be treated by the state on equal footing with students at every other university.”
