Tal Ben-Zvi, an Orthodox Jewish professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., says the university derailed his career because of his religious observance, according to a lawsuit filed in Hudson County Superior Court.
An Israeli-born tenured associate professor who has taught at the private research university since 2006, he alleges a decade-long pattern of discrimination, harassment and retaliation tied to his Orthodox Jewish beliefs.
Ben-Zvi, who has taught at Stevens since 2006, claims that the university retaliated against him after he filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging antisemitism. The suit says the retaliation included denied promotions, delayed pay and other professional harm.
The complaint also alleges that the university refused basic religious accommodations, including scheduling meetings during Jewish holidays and failing to provide kosher food at events where other dietary restrictions were accommodated.
Ben-Zvi says tensions escalated after he raised concerns about being required to attend meetings during major Jewish holidays. According to the lawsuit, the dean of the university’s business school subsequently treated him with hostility, while a dean’s assistant questioned whether the holidays he cited were legitimate.
The suit also alleges that university attorneys cited a traditional Jewish prayer they described as misogynistic as evidence that Ben-Zvi showed gender bias while serving as vice chair of the faculty senate and declining to recommend a female colleague for tenure.
In addition to religious discrimination, Ben-Zvi alleges disability discrimination related to a leg condition.
The complaint further includes statements from faculty, staff and students alleging meetings were sometimes scheduled during Jewish holidays, discouraging participation by observant Jews. Some students cited by the lawsuit also stated that they felt pressured to attend classes on those holidays or risk harming their academic standing. The students added that university leadership declined to meet with them following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and amid concerns about campus safety afterward.
‘Masked as progress’
Ben-Zvi is seeking unspecified damages for financial, professional and emotional harm, along with acknowledgment that the school fostered what the lawsuit calls a “culture of silence, discrimination and immorality—masked as progress.”
Stevens, which maintains academic partnerships with Tel Aviv University and the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, denies the allegations.
“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,” a university spokesperson said in a statement.
The individual added that Stevens “takes pride in its inclusive and diverse campus community.”
The spokesperson further maintains policies prohibiting discrimination based on religion or disability, and that faculty, staff and students are generally granted time off when requested for religious observance.
