Thread by @esbax

Now that briefing is wrapped up for Yeshiva’s still-pending #SCOTUS application, I have to say how miraculous it feels to have seen so much amicus support for Yeshiva—literally from around the globe.

Some of our amici, like Professor Doug Laycock, were already preparing briefs in a separate state-court appeal that is being briefed right now (though it won’t be decided until next year).

Although we didn’t know we’d be appealing to #SCOTUS until we were denied a stay by two different NY courts last week, those amici were willing to quickly repurpose their briefs when we found out on Monday that a response had been requested.

Others we could only ask for amicus support for the first time on Monday. Of course, many friends simply couldn’t file a brief that would be due just 4 days later. But others put everything aside to draft a brief on an accelerated timeframe.

We are supremely grateful to those who were able to make the sacrifice to draft and file a brief, as well as those who have supported us in so many other ways.

Amici are showing up because they care about Yeshiva’s right to interpret and apply Torah on its own campus, free from government coercion

For example, I was touched that the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine wrote to SCOTUS that, despite “6 months of chaos, conflict, and struggle,” he found it of “utmost importance” to defend Yeshiva’s role as a beacon for Jewish leaders and communities worldwide: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/2…

None of this would have been necessary but for the state courts’ extraordinary order that Yeshiva “immediately” reverse its religious decision, and those courts’ sudden refusal last week to protect Yeshiva while the appeal process plays out.

(As an aside, we’re also grateful there are no opposing amici, although we’re not sure why. Plaintiffs have amicus support in the NY trial and appellate courts – perhaps their SCOTUS brief was less convincing?)

Ultimately the wave of support for Yeshiva shows that religious groups understand what is at stake in this case. If a court can say Yeshiva is not religious and can’t uphold its Torah values on its own campus, all religious institutions are at risk. Few cases will be more vital.