Israeli court rules anti-LGBTQ, ultra-orthodox group can operate on Technion campus

An Israeli university cannot limit the activities of an ultra-orthodox and anti-LGBTQ group, even if it does not agree with its values, according to a ruling by the Haifa District Court.

Ultra-orthodox group Choosing Family filed a lawsuit against The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology after the university banned the organisation from operating on its campus and from associating with its name.

The court ruled that the group's anti-LGBTQ views "do not exceed the legitimate range of opinions that must be contended with in the public arena".

Choosing Family seeks to "strengthen family values", and claims homosexuality is a choice and equates sex between two men and two women to "eating poison".

The organisation has since reinstated its operations and called on students to join.

In response, Technion said: "Poisonous and offensive statements are in total opposition to the spirit of the institution and its values," adding it will "continue to act to the best of our abilities to ensure a campus that is safe, inclusive, and supportive for everyone."

The suit was initially filed after the university's president, Professor Uri Sivan, said the group was not allowed to use the university's symbol or hold events on campus.

This came after the organisation's chairman, Michael Puah, spoke at a student-held conference speaking against LGBTQ families and transgender people.

"Through the word 'gender', they've cancelled the objective distinction between man and woman, between male and female," Puah said.

While the judge called the statements "difficult", they are not condemning "specific people or specific communities" while questioning the Technion's description as a "liberal institution" if it only allows the expression of opinions of the same people who claim are liberal.

The court also ruled that the group does not have to change its name when operating on campus after the group requested to use the institution's name and logo.

The court also recommended the group remove a post sharing a false post that men who have sex with other men are the "cause" of AIDS and Mpox.

Choosing Family has responded to the ruling, writing on social media: "There is no legitimacy whatsoever to ban the group's activities".

"The group does not incite, does not discriminate and does not act in a manner that justifies the shameful treatment we have suffered from," the organisation added.

The Technion said it is satisfied by the requirement that those who operate in the name of the organisation on campus remove defamatory statements that have been published and avoid using the Technion name and its symbols so as not to create a false appearance of a 'Technion student group.'

"The Technion will continue to operate as a community based on respectful dialogue, diversity, inclusion and acceptance of all those who enter its gates," the institution added.

The Technion has long been criticised for its close ties to the Israeli forces, with many of its research and development projects directly supporting military applications.

The university has been involved in creating technologies used by the Israeli forces in surveillance, weapons systems, and other military operations, contributing to Israel's defence infrastructure.