UC Berkeley Settles Discrimination Lawsuit by Israeli Professor

The University of California at Berkeley this month settled the discrimination lawsuit filed by an Israeli professor denied a teaching position in 2023 because an administrator worried her presence on campus would enrage pro-Hamas student mobs.

Even after Berkeley’s own internal investigation found that the decision to rescind a job offer to Yael Nativ was impermissible discrimination based on nationality,  the school still refused to hire her.

But Berkeley caved right after Nativ, a dance scholar and sociologist, filed her lawsuit this August in California Superior Court. Brandeis Center lawyer Paul Eckles, who represented Nativ,  told the California Globe that Berkeley reached out  for settlement talks “almost immediately” after the case was docketed.

“They capitulated because there was no defense. It was really just a matter of what sort of remedy she was entitled to. You can’t discriminate against somebody [under]f the guise of a political issue. Discrimination based on a protected category like national origin is wrong. Period.”

“We’re pleased  and gratified to have been able to achieve a successful resolution,” he added.

The August filing was apparently a huge embarrassment because it was only the previous month that Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons had insisted at a congressional hearing that he was devoted to fighting anti-Semitism at the school.  This was, of course, the same hearing where he praised as a “fine scholar” a Berkeley professor who had mused oline about wishing he could have participated in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

So the Lyons promise seemed even more dubious after the case was filed.

But under the terms of the settlement, the University of California Board of Regents is paying Nativ $60,000–plus $56,000 in legal fees to the Brandeis Center and the Pasadena-based Olivier and Schreiber law firm that also represented her.

Additionally,  Berkeley has promised to give Nativ a teaching position at an unspecified future date. Lyons also must “personally apologize” to Nativ “for the discrimination against her, either in person or on a Zoom or phone call.”

Lyons said in a statement that,  “I respect and appreciate Dr. Nativ’s decision to settle this case. She is owed the apology I will provide on behalf of our campus. “

According to Eckles, Lyons has said he would like to apologize in person.

Nativ said in a statement that, “Institutions of higher education bear a fundamental responsibility to uphold the values of equity, inquiry, and open dialogue.  Incidents of discrimination of any kind must have no place within environments dedicated to learning and the free exchange of ideas. It is my hope that this outcome  contributes to strengthening these commitments for all scholars and students.”

Meanwhile, Berkeley is still fighting another Brandeis Center lawsuit for the “unchecked spread of anti-Semitism” on campus. This April, the federal judge hearing the case ruled it can proceed to trial.

Eckles said discovery is underway and Berkeley officials could be deposed in the new year.  He declined to answer questions about whether any settlement is looming on the horizon.