Yeshiva U’s Centennial Ignores Abuse Survivors

As Yeshiva University (YU) approaches its 100th annual Hanukkah Dinner Dec. 15, a celebration of its storied history and accomplishments, there remains an unspoken shadow over the institution’s legacy. For many survivors of sexual abuse, including myself, this milestone is not a cause for celebration but a stark reminder of decades of silence, evasion, and denial of justice.

I am a graduate of YU’s Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (MTA), where I was among the countless students who experienced the horrors of abuse within its walls. Survivors like me have spent decades seeking acknowledgment, accountability, and healing, yet YU has continually failed to confront its past with the integrity it claims to uphold.

A Call for Integrity, Ignored

In 2012, Jack Lew, then White House Chief of Staff, stood at a YU Hanukkah Dinner and addressed the emerging revelations of abuse. “The alleged behavior is despicable and cannot be tolerated in any place, at any time,” he said to a room full of trustees and supporters. Lew urged the institution to respond with moral clarity, transcending the confines of religious teachings to prioritize the safety and dignity of its students.

More than a decade later, those words remain a painful reminder of what could have been. Survivors’ lawsuits, filed under New York’s Child Victims Act, detail allegations of systemic abuse and institutional failures stretching back to the 1960s. While a judge dismissed YU’s attempts to throw out these cases last spring, progress remains excruciatingly slow. To date, YU has settled only a small fraction of over 50 cases, according to court documents.

The Ongoing Struggle for Truth

YU’s reluctance to release the full findings of its 2013 Sullivan & Cromwell report—a document survivors believe could reveal the depth of institutional neglect—underscores its failure to embrace transparency. Adding insult to injury, YU missed a critical court-ordered discovery deadline this past August, further delaying justice.

Meanwhile, critical witnesses — former staff, board members, teachers and alumni — either continue to remain silent or die each year, taking with them crucial testimony that could illuminate the truth. Tragically, one survivor in our group died without seeing justice served, underscoring the cost of these delays.

However, hope remains.

An unnamed press organization is said to be considering a formal request to the court to unseal depositions from key figures in the case, including former YU staff member Rabbi Yosef Blau. These potentially explosive testimonies could reveal details about the university’s handling of abuse allegations and send shockwaves through the YU community.

Recent developments in a parallel case involving the Orthodox Union (OU) set a precedent for transparency, according to court documents. In that case, a judge ordered the release of an internal investigative report concerning Baruch Lanner, a former NCSY leader accused of abuse. YU now faces a renewed discovery deadline in January, and survivors are watching closely to see whether the university will finally comply.

A Legacy at Stake

As President Ari Berman takes the stage at YU’s centennial celebration clad in academic garb with the oversized university medallion on his chest, he will likely laud the institution’s values of integrity and leadership. He will wrap the institution around the Israeli flag and the plight of the Israeli hostages. But he won’t acknowledge the harm inflicted on more than 50 former students at YU. He won’t mention that YU has cravenly denied justice to victims, including those who allege that they were raped and sodomized by administrators and faculty (some of whom were ordained rabbis). Nearly 50 years later, survivors live alone in darkness —  marginalized and abandoned by the institution that failed them.

Without such an acknowledgment, President Berman’s words will ring hollow.

Integrity is more than a slogan; it requires action. YU must acknowledge its past, issue a formal apology, and take concrete steps to ensure such abuses never happen again. The Sullivan & Cromwell report must be released, and survivors’ voices must be amplified—not ignored.

A Moment of Reckoning

This centennial is more than a celebration; it is a test of YU’s moral compass. Survivors are not faceless numbers or inconvenient reminders of past failures—they are individuals whose lives were irrevocably altered. Justice for them is long overdue, and history will judge whether YU chose to confront its past or continue to bury it.

Survivors – and the world – are watching.