The US Supreme Court gave its first victory on Friday to a Jewish university that refused to grant membership status to a group of gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

The Yeshiva University of New York urgently appealed to the Supreme Court after a judge ordered the institution to register the “Yeshiva Pride Alliance”, a student club that will allow the group access to some rooms and services on their return to school in 2022.

“As a deeply religious Jewish university, Yeshiva cannot comply with this order as it would violate their sincere religious beliefs about how to educate their students in Torah values,” the university said in its appeal.

Prosecutors said the university offers many non-religious courses and accepts non-Jewish students, so it “cannot prevent some students from accessing non-religious resources because of their sexual orientation.”

On Friday, the conservative-majority Supreme Court suspended the judge’s decision while it reviewed the case, marking the first victory for the university.

As it is an urgent decision, there is no need to justify or state which judges support it.

Established in the 19th century to “promote the study of the Talmud”, Yeshiva University has about 5,000 students.

In 2018, LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students formed the YU Pride Alliance to be recognized by the university and to organize conferences and meetups, among other things.

In the United States, there is a wide debate about the balance between the principles of respect for religious freedom and non-discrimination.

The Supreme Court, which has undergone a major transformation under the administration of former President Donald Trump, has made more conservative decisions in recent months.