Israeli Dance Researcher/Sociologist Denied Rehire Because She is Jewish, Suing UC Berkeley

This July, University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons told a congressional committee that he is committed to fighting anti-Semitism at the school, which is fighting multiple lawsuits and federal discrimination complaints for mistreatment of its Jewish students.

Now, comes word that Berkeley refused to hire Israeli dance researcher and sociologist Yael Nativ because she is Israeli,  and even after the school’s own investigation determined she was the victim of discrimination they continued to deny her a job.

Nativ late last month filed a lawsuit against the University of California Board of Regents for violating state civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on nationality.  She is being represented by the  Brandeis Center.

Brandeis Center lawyer Rebecca Harris told the California Globe that Berkeley’s treatment of Nativ “is a straightforward case of discrimination where even internally the school found there was discrimination. It is part of a broader trend we’ve seen of cases of discrimination against Israeli students and researchers.”

Indeed, this July, the Brandeis Center filed a lawsuit against Stanford University on behalf of an Israeli scientist who was hounded out of his lab job after being targeted for harassment by other workers and even his own supervisor.

According to Nativ’s California Superior Court lawsuit, she had actually taught at Berkeley in the Spring 2022 semester without any trouble. She was a professor in the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies (TDPS).

But things changed when Berkeley’s Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies invited her to return to the TDPS  for the 2024-2025 school year.  The Institute arranges for Israeli professors to teach at different departments at Berkeley.

Professor SanSan Kwan, the TDPS Department chair,  also invited her to teach again in the Department.

So in August 2023, Nativ submitted her application to the Helen Diller Institute, “stating her intention to teach the same dance course that she taught in 2022.”

But the atmosphere on campus changed dramatically after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Hams sentiment swept the campus, engulfing the Department where Nativ hoped to teach.

The lawsuit says that, “On November 9, 2023, a few weeks after Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack on Israel, [Helen Diller Institute head Rebecca] Golbert emailed Dr. Kwan to inform her that Dr. Nativ had submitted her application, as requested, to return to teach at Berkeley for the Fall 2024 semester. Golbert wrote that HDI wanted to host Dr. Nativ again and hoped the TDPS Department felt the same way.”

On November 17, Kwan wrote back to Golbert that the “TDPS Department would not host Dr. Nativ again and that she would inform Dr. Nativ of the decision.”

Golbert knew the reason.

The lawsuit says that in response to Kwan’s November 17 email, “Golbert expressed her disappointment in Dr. Kwan’s decision and her belief that the decision not to hire Dr. Nativ was misguided and related to the ideological divisions over Israel that Dr. Kwan was facing in her department. 30. Dr. Kwan did not contest Golbert’s characterization of the situation, writing back that she was sorry and that she was in a difficult situation.”

The next day Kwan essentially told Nativ that she would enrage a pro-Hamas mob if she gave her a teaching position.

In a direct message on WhatsApp, Dr. Kwan wrote: “[M]y dept cannot host you for a class next fall. … Things are very hot here right now and many of our grad students are angry. I would be putting the dept and you in a terrible position if you taught here.”

Nativ told Kwan she hoped she would reconsider her position. She wrote that  “I’m so sad and broken all around, for everyone in all sides. Yet, the biggest disappointment and pain come from my/our academic scholars and colleagues mostly in American universities. The level of ignorance, hate, and the inability to make an effort for a complex discourse is astounding and appalling. This is not how I was educated embracing ideas of power structures and critical reflection. I know you are in a difficult position. Yet I hope, knowing how sharp you are and your high level of integrity, that you do make this effort with your students, colleagues and wherever you are.”

Kwan did not respond.

On December 31, Nativ published an article about her rejection by Berkeley in the English language website of the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. The article was titled “Berkeley Gave in to Fear and Division When It Canceled My Invitation After October 7.”

The article created quite a stir. Alumni who read it complained to the Berkeley Chancellor’s office.

And Berkeley purported to take action.

“On February 15, 2024, Berkeley’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (“OPHD”) notified Dr. Nativ that it had opened an investigation into whether Dr. Kwan had discriminated against her for being Israeli,” the lawsuit says.

The investigation took more than nine months.

On November 20, Nativ received an email from Kellie Brennan, Director of OPHD and Berkeley’s Assistant Vice Chancellor of Civil Rights for Whistleblower & Clery Compliance, saying Berkeley had “concluded that Dr. Nativ’s claim that she was discriminated against based on her national origin was substantiated by a preponderance of the evidence and constituted a violation of Berkeley’s Nondiscrimination Policy.”

Despite that finding, the school continued to stonewall.

Brennan told Nativ that she was “referring the case to Vice Provost Victoria Plaut, who would determine what actions would be appropriate to take and would notify Dr. Nativ by letter of the final outcome of her case,” according to the lawsuit.

On November 27, Nativ emailed Plaut and asked for an apology from Berkeley and the opportunity to teach at the school again.

Three weeks went by with no reply from Plaut. So on December 9, Nativ emailed her again.

Plaut finally wrote back on December 17,  saying only that the “matter is still currently under review.”

Two more months went by with no reply from Plaut so Nativ emailed her again on February 17, 2025, asking for a “time frame” about when she would make a decision on the case.

The lawsuit says that, “On March 25, 2025—after more than a month of further non-responsiveness—Vice Provost Plaut replied curtly that she was “not able to provide a timeline right now.”

Nativ emailed Plaut again on May 15. But she did not reply.

The lawsuit says that, “To date, Berkeley has not informed Dr. Nativ of any action it has taken or plans to take to remedy its discrimination against Dr. Nativ.”

Plaut did not respond to requests for comment.

Berkeley spokesman Dan Mogulof told the California Globe that, “We are not permitted by UC policy or State law to comment on personnel matters, that is private information. While we will not comment on an individual case, UC Berkeley is committed to confronting harassment and discrimination of all types, and to gaining compliance with all relevant state and federal statutes, and University policies. When those laws and/or policies are violated, the university believes there should be appropriate consequences.”

But if Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons is serious about fighting anti-Semitism at Berkeley he could start by giving Yael Nativ a job.