The state of Ohio filed a lawsuit against Hebrew Union College to prevent the institution from closing its rabbinical program in Cincinnati at the end of the 2025- 2026 academic year.
The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Dave Yoston in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, argues that the planned closure runs afoul of Ohio laws that protect the intent of donors who give money to charitable organizations. While college officials have maintained that the campus has struggled for years with debt and declining enrollment, Yost claims the school is not legally permitted to take assets and donations intended for Cincinnati and use them elsewhere.
The legal action centers on a 1950 consolidation agreement in which the administration committed to permanently maintaining campuses in both Cincinnati and New York. Yost stated that Hebrew Union accepted millions of dollars in donations based on a 76-year-old promise that it now wants to break. He added that his office is suing to keep these assets in Cincinnati where they belong. The lawsuit also alleges that college officials are actively pursuing the sale or lease of the land housing the rabbinical school. The attorney general is asking a judge to block the closure and halt any related real estate transactions until the court resolves the matter.
Hebrew Union College, founded in Cincinnati in 1875 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the oldest Jewish seminary in the United States and has trained rabbis for American congregations for nearly 150 years. When the college first announced plans to close the rabbinical program in 2022, officials cited a record $8.8 million deficit. Furthermore, enrollment of rabbinic students had dropped by 37 percent over the preceding 15 years. The institution has recently mentioned plans for reimagining the historic Cincinnati campus, but officials have not provided specific details about what those plans entail.
This lawsuit marks the second legal action Yost has filed against Hebrew Union College in recent years. In 2024, the attorney general sued the school to block the potential sale of books and rare manuscripts from the Klau Library. Yost initiated that suit after school officials hired a consultant from the British auction house Sotheby's to evaluate the books and determine their value. Based on that review, the administration indicated they would consider deaccessioning, or removing books from the collection, if certain texts were found to be redundant or not central to the mission of the institution.
In the library dispute, Yost made the exact same argument, claiming the school cannot sell assets provided by donors who intended for their gifts to remain at the Cincinnati campus. Under the terms of a settlement reached last year, the college is required to provide the attorney general with a complete list of items in the special collections and the rare book and manuscript collection. The administration must also identify any items that carry donor restrictions and notify the state at least 45 days before attempting to sell or remove them. Proceeds from any sales can only be used to obtain new books or items for the library collection, unless the college board declares an acute financial need through a two-thirds majority vote.