Court Rejects Hebrew Union College’s Bid to Dismiss Ohio Attorney General’s Lawsuit

Court Rejects Hebrew Union College’s Bid to Dismiss Ohio Attorney General’s Lawsuit

CINCINNATI (October 30, 2026) — The Hamilton County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas today denied Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion’s (HUC) Motion to Dismiss the Ohio Attorney General’s lawsuit over the closure of HUC’s Cincinnati rabbinical school and the disposition of related charitable assets. The College for Contemporary Judaism (CCJ), which the Court admitted as a party to the case on October 5, welcomed the decision, as well as the opportunity to participate in a mediation process in an effort to settle the lawsuit.

“Today’s ruling confirms that the promises made to generations of donors deserve a full hearing,” said Andrew R. Berger, CCJ’s Founding Board Chair. “The Court was right to deny HUC’s motion to dismiss, and we are hopeful it can lead to a mutually agreeable resolution during mediation, which the Court requested. Our belief is simple: that charitable gifts made for the purpose of educating rabbis in Cincinnati, for the ultimate benefit of America’s heartland, continue to serve that purpose.”

In his written opinion, Judge Christopher Wagner rejected HUC’s argument that the First Amendment, separating church and state, bars the case, finding that “the central issue that appears at this time is not Jewish theology, religious doctrine, or ecclesiastical governance” as HUC argued, and that “the same issue could arise whether or not the defendant was a religious institution.”

“Our work does not wait on the courtroom,” said Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola, CCJ’s Founding President. “In a study released just last week, nearly 400 congregations across the Midwest, South and Mountain West told us what they need from the next generation of rabbis. CCJ is building the school that answers them. The Jewish future of this continent will be written in Memphis and Des Moines as surely as in New York and Los Angeles, and CCJ exists to make sure those communities have the rabbis to lead them.”

The Attorney General filed suit on April 10, 2026, alleging that HUC violated Ohio law and breached its charitable trust when it removed language from its 1950 Consolidation Agreement requiring it to “permanently maintain” a rabbinical school in Cincinnati and then closed the school at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. Consequently, there is now no accredited, in residence non-orthodox rabbinical school operating between the coasts.

The Attorney General is seeking to impose a constructive trust over HUC’s Cincinnati-related assets, to be redistributed for the purpose of supporting a permanent rabbinical school in Cincinnati. When it opens, CCJ’s charter reestablishes the commitment to “permanently maintain a rabbinical school in Cincinnati, Ohio”

On October 22, CCJ released the CCJ Rabbinic Search Survey, a University of Miami–led study of 397 non-Orthodox congregations, available here.