Scaligera at English Wikipedia Yeshiva University takes its name from a Jewish study hall, where dissenting views and passionate disagreements are encouraged. However, YU’s institutionalization of DEI—a profoundly rigid, intolerant ideology—flies in the face of what a yeshiva is.
YU professes to be “rooted in Jewish thought and tradition” and committed to “timeless values.” This makes sense—Jewish tradition has lasted for thousands of years and was arguably instrumental in the founding of the United States. DEI, on the other hand, is anything but timeless; it has Marxist roots, and no Marxist society has ever prospered.
Alas, YU’s curricula reveals its commitment to timeless values to be mere words. Undergraduate nursing students at YU must take “NUR 4041: Population Health Nursing,” which emphasizes “diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethics for the improvement of population health outcomes.” “NUR 3033: Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing” and “NUR 2020: Health Assessment” are also required classes that mention “health equity,” which can be a Trojan horse for DEI and other forms of critical theory.
DEI, on the other hand, is anything but timeless; it has Marxist roots, and no Marxist society has ever prospered.YU founded the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the latter became fully independent in 2019 (YU remains a minority shareholder with a 49% stake and minority voting rights). Einstein was founded “during an era when medical schools had quotas — restricting enrollment of people of color, non-Christian faith, and women.” (A marketing professional less concerned with political correctness and more attuned to Jewish history might refer directly to ‘Jewish quotas.’)
Despite technically no longer being part of YU, Albert Einstein College of Medicine is still “Jewish enough” that its Biomedical Sciences program gives its students time off for the Shavuot holiday. Yet the school retained many former DEI staffers, with some perhaps continuing in that work: Lynne Holden was Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion at Einstein but is now Vice Chair of Community Outreach & Engagement, a common euphemism for DEI. Irene Blanco was Associate Dean of Diversity Enhancement at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine but now appears to be a regular faculty member, aside from speaking engagements on “diversity in healthcare.” Vice President of Human Resources Yvonne Ramirez was previously Vice President, Human Resources & Diversity Officer.
One tenet of DEI is the assumption that all white people (or those perceived to be white, including pale-skinned Jews) are racist and biased against non-“white” people and that all able-bodied people are biased against the disabled, sometimes without realizing it. As such, a required course for the PhD in Clinical Psychology with a Health Emphasis at YU’s Ferkauf School of Graduate Psychology, “PSA 6181: Multicultural and Diversity Issues,” “strongly encourages the student to explore his or her own biases regarding … clients of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds and with gender and sexual orientation problems, and with clients who are physically challenged.” It also covers “identifying individual and institutional racism” but does not mention antisemitism. The MA program in Mental Health counseling has an almost identically named requirement, ‘PSM 6181 MHC: Multicultural and Diversity Issues.’
Several degree programs housed in Ferkauf have their own DEI statements, but not one mentions antisemitism, making it difficult to believe that YU is truly “rooted in Jewish thought and tradition,” as it claims.
For example, the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology Program’s “focus on multiculturalism and diversity is embedded throughout all course work and practicals.”
But is it comfortable to be an Orthodox Jew or a proud Zionist in this program?
The Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology with Health Emphasis incorporates “[i]nformation about a range of diversity- and inclusion-related topics (e.g., multiculturalism, social determinants of health, working with diverse clients)” into its classes, research, clinical work and supervision. “We actively participate in and support Ferkauf’s ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts such as the Student-Faculty Coalition for Diversity and Social Justice and a number of affinity groups (e.g., BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, international),” it says.
But what does any of this have to do with “Jewish thought and tradition?”
The Doctor of Psychology in School-Clinical Child Psychology is “committed to becoming a Program that trains psychologists in the framework of anti-racism and social justice to disrupt structural inequities and amplify the voices of those historically marginalized in our field. The program’s focus on individual differences, diversity and multiculturalism is embedded through all course work and practice.”
But what does any of this have to do with “Jewish thought and tradition?”Orthodox K-12 schools might favor YU graduates when hiring because their degree should indicate grounding in Jewish ethical and intellectual traditions. But no Orthodox school would tolerate this ideology, let alone reward an applicant for parroting it.
The “world’s premier Jewish institution for higher education”as YU calls itself—pointedly ignoring its large number of gentile graduate students—has no business tolerating such distinctly un-Jewish ideology. The school must draw strength from the ancient Jewish value of disagreement for the sake of heaven, because if an Orthodox Jewish university isn’t safe from DEI, no one is.
Naomi Grant Risch is a senior research associate at Do No Harm.
Author
Naomi Grant Risch
