Ohio AG Sues Hebrew Union Over Rabbinical School Closure
Summary
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed suit against Hebrew Union College in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court on April 14, 2026, alleging the college violated its founding documents and state charitable law by voting to close its Cincinnati rabbinical school. The AG seeks to prohibit sale of the Cincinnati campus and block transfer of restricted donations out of state, asserting the college is bound by a 1950 agreement to permanently maintain a rabbinical school in Cincinnati.
What changed
Ohio AG Dave Yost filed enforcement action against Hebrew Union College alleging violations of state charitable law and breach of a 1950 agreement requiring permanent maintenance of a rabbinical school in Cincinnati. The college's board voted in April 2022 to delete this requirement and close the school at end of 2025-26. The AG further alleges improper diversion of restricted donations intended for Cincinnati to other campuses in New York, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem.
Affected parties include nonprofits, charitable institutions, and donors with restricted gifts. The litigation could set precedent for enforcement of charitable trust obligations and donor intent protections under Ohio law. The AG seeks court orders prohibiting sale of the Cincinnati campus, blocking out-of-state transfer of restricted donations, and requiring full accounting of Ohio-based charitable assets.
What to do next
- Nonprofits holding charitable assets should review founding documents for compliance with permanent maintenance obligations
- Restricted donation recipients should ensure fund transfers comply with donor intent and state charitable laws
- Monitor litigation proceedings in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court
Archived snapshot
Apr 14, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Media > News Releases > April 2026 > Yost Moves to Preserve Cincinnati Rabbinical School
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Yost Moves to Preserve Cincinnati Rabbinical School
4/14/2026
(CINCINNATI) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing Hebrew Union College to ensure its charitable assets remain dedicated to supporting a permanent rabbinical school in Cincinnati.
“Hebrew Union accepted millions of dollars in donations based on a 76-year-old promise it now would like to break,” Yost said. “We’re suing to keep these assets in Cincinnati where they belong.”
The lawsuit, filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court, asserts that Hebrew Union violated its founding documents and state law by deciding to shutter its rabbinical school at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Under a 1950 agreement, Hebrew Union is legally required to “permanently maintain” a rabbinical school in Cincinnati. In April 2022, the college’s board voted to delete the requirement from its founding documents and proceed with the closure, a move that Yost argues is a breach of charitable trust.
The filing further alleges that the college has acted improperly by diverting restricted donations intended for the Cincinnati campus to its other locations in New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem. Because many of the contributions were made specifically to support the Cincinnati program, Yost maintains that closing the campus and moving the funds violates donor intent and Ohio’s charitable laws.
Yost is asking the court to prohibit the sale of the Cincinnati campus and block the transfer of restricted donations out of state. Additionally, the suit seeks a full accounting of the college’s Ohio-based assets and a court order redirecting them to support a permanent rabbinical campus in Cincinnati.
This is the second time Yost has taken legal action to protect the institution’s charitable assets. In 2024, he sued the college to prevent the sale of rare sacred texts housed at the Klau Library. A settlement reached in October established guardrails to protect the rare-book collection.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Dominic Binkley: 614-728-4127
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