An Orthodox Jewish professor is suing his employer for what he alleges is a decades-long pattern of anti-religious discrimination and harassment. Tal Ben-Zvi has filed a lawsuit against the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., for what he says were refusals to accommodate his religious needs, such as scheduling meetings during holidays and not providing kosher food while accommodating the dietary restrictions of others.

The Israeli-born tenured professor, who has been teaching at the university since 2006, said that he was subjected to retaliation after he filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that alleged professional harm, including delayed pay and denied promotions.

Ben-Zvi said that after approaching the university to discuss the problematic nature of scheduling meetings on Jewish holidays, the dean of the business school treated him with marked hostility, while an assistant dean questioned whether the holidays were in fact legitimate.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that the university cited a traditional Jewish prayer it considered misogynistic as evidence of Ben-Zvi’s gender bias in his refusal to recommend a female professor for tenure. The lawsuit includes complaints by students who said they felt pressured to attend class during Jewish holidays so as not to harm their grades and that university leadership declined to meet with them following the Oct. 7 attack and during ensuing hostilities directed at Jewish students on campus.

The lawsuit also includes an allegation of discrimination based on disability, due to a medical leg condition.

The lawsuit is demanding unspecified damages for financial, professional and emotional harm, along with an acknowledgment from the university that the institution promoted a “culture of silence, discrimination and immorality — masked as progress.”

The university, which maintains academic partnerships with Tel Aviv University and the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, denied wrongdoing and pushed back in a statement.

“Each of Dr. Ben-Zvi’s various complaints over the years has been thoroughly investigated, and no evidence of discrimination — religious, disability-related or otherwise — was found,” the statement said, adding that the school “takes pride in its inclusive and diverse campus community.”

The statement also emphasized that Stevens enforces policies prohibiting discrimination based on religion or disability and that it grants religious accommodations, including time off for religious holidays.