We, the undersigned Modern Orthodox rabbis and clergy, write to express our disappointment
with Yeshiva University (YU) for its refusal to support the Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ club for its
undergraduates.

Religious liberties are a tremendous gift and they are worth fighting for zealously. But we feel
that this is the wrong cause upon which to foist that important fight.

LGBTQ people, particularly young people, face immense challenges in the Orthodox world.
When they make the choice to enroll in YU, they express a profound loyalty to the Orthodox
community and an inspiring preference to spend their formative college years in a Torah
environment.  There is an obvious need for these students to find each other, support each
other, and work together in navigating the spiritual and social challenges that they
unfortunately face. Indeed, we wish that YU would consider it essential to its religious
mandate to provide such resources for its students.

YU is a flagship institution whose policies have an impact far beyond its campuses. YU’s
decision will likely hinder efforts at other Modern Orthodox educational institutions to address
the needs of LGBTQ students. We are broadly concerned that this highly public campaign
signals to all observers, Jewish and non-Jewish, that Modern Orthodoxy considers any efforts
to ensure the wellbeing of its LGBTQ members to be a threat to its core religious principles. 
We feel differently.

No matter how the civil liberty questions are resolved, and even if the court decides to expand
religious freedom for universities like YU, we feel that supporting the Pride Alliance is a
profound religious duty and a rich opportunity for making real Yeshiva University’s stated
animating values which are “truth, life, the infinite worth of every human being, compassion
and redemption.”  ( https://www.yu.edu/about/values )  

We the undersigned, support the Pride Alliance and wholeheartedly affirm that LGBTQ people
are members of our Modern Orthodox communities, and that it is our desire to include,
recognize, and support them in their pursuit of Torah and Mitzvot.

1. Rabbi Ben Greenfield
2. Rabbi Yitzhak Ajzner
3. Rabbah Mira Neshama Weil
4. Rabbi Gabriel Kretzmer-Seed
5. Rabbi Tyson Herberger 
6. Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz
7. Rabbi Asher Lopatin
8. Rabbi Ariel Goldberg
9. Rabbi Mikey Stein
10. Rav Hayim Leiter
11. Rabbi Avram Mlotek
12. Rabbi Avidan Freedman
13. Rabbi Marianne Novak
14. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg
15. Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller
16. Rabbi Dr. Reb Mimi Feigelson
17. Rabbi Shimon Brand
18. Rabbi Steve Greenberg
19. Rabbi David Jaffe
20. Rabbi Michael Chernick
21. Rabbi Jonah Winer
22. Rabbi Aaron Portman
23. Rabbi Shayna Abramson
24. Rabbi Mel Gottlieb
25. Rabbi Isaac Sassoon
26. Rabbi Jeff Fox
27. Rabbi Barry Dolinger
28. Rabba Sara Hurwitz
29. Rabbi Dr. David Bauman
30. Rabbi Loren Berman
31. Rabbi Michael Langer
32. Rabbi Dina Najman
33. Rabbi Eitan Cooper
34. Rabbi Emily Goldberg Winer
35. Rabbi Barry Gelman
36. Rabbi David Fain
37. Rabbi Aaron Levy
38. Rabbi Jason Mark
39. Rabbi Shamir Caplan
40. Rabbi Phoebe Ana Rabinowitsch 
41. Rabbanit Tali Schaum Broder
42. Rabbanit Bracha Jaffe 
43. Rabbi Dr. Zev Farber
44. Rabba Aliza Libman Baronofsky
45. Rabbi David Kalb
46. ​Rabbi Max Davis
47. Rabbi Dr. Jeremiah Unterman
48. ​Rabbi Dr. Pinchas Giller
​49. Rabbi Ezra Seligsohn
​50. Rabba Dr. Carmella Abraham
​51. Rabbi Avi Weiss