By: Greg Haimowitz

A prominent Israeli-born academic has launched a sweeping legal challenge against the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, alleging that the university engaged in a prolonged campaign of discrimination and retaliation against him because of his Orthodox Jewish faith. The lawsuit, which is set to proceed to trial in Hudson County Superior Court, claims that the institution repeatedly undermined the career of a tenured professor despite his strong record as a researcher and educator.

According to an exclusive report on Sunday in The New York Post, the plaintiff, Dr. Tal Ben-Zvi, has spent more than two decades teaching at Stevens Institute, where he built a reputation as an accomplished scholar and highly regarded instructor. Yet in court filings, Ben-Zvi asserts that his professional trajectory was deliberately obstructed after he became embroiled in a dispute involving the tenure evaluation of a colleague more than a decade ago.

Ben-Zvi, now 48, contends that the controversy began during his service as vice chair of the university’s faculty senate. At the time, he was part of a committee responsible for evaluating candidates seeking tenure, one of the most consequential decisions in academic life. According to the lawsuit cited by The New York Post, the committee ultimately declined to recommend tenure for a female colleague, determining that her academic record did not meet the institution’s established criteria.

However, the decision quickly became contentious. University administrators and attorneys allegedly accused Ben-Zvi of harboring gender bias, a charge he strongly denies. The lawsuit claims that the institution’s legal representatives went so far as to cite a traditional Jewish prayer as purported evidence of misogynistic beliefs.

That prayer, commonly recited by Orthodox Jewish men as part of morning liturgy, has occasionally drawn criticism from some observers who interpret its language as reflecting antiquated gender attitudes. Ben-Zvi’s legal complaint argues that invoking the prayer as proof of discrimination was not only irrelevant to the tenure decision but also constituted a form of religious bias.

As The New York Post reported, Ben-Zvi and other members of the tenure committee maintain that their decision regarding the candidate was based strictly on academic standards rather than gender considerations.

In the years that followed, the professor alleges that the university retaliated against him after he filed complaints about discrimination and workplace treatment. According to the lawsuit, Stevens Institute imposed a series of administrative penalties that significantly disrupted his career.

Among the actions cited in the complaint are delays in salary payments, the denial of promotion opportunities, and the suspension of his health-related spending account. Ben-Zvi’s legal team claims that these measures were imposed without legitimate justification and were intended to punish him for asserting his rights.

The lawsuit also raises concerns about the treatment of Ben-Zvi’s religious observance. As an Orthodox Jew, he follows strict guidelines governing work and daily activities during certain holidays and sacred days.