Brandeis Center Files Lawsuit Against UC Berkeley
The Brandeis Center has initiated legal action against the University of California, Berkeley, claiming that it declined to process the application of a professor based on her Israeli nationality.
Dr. Yael Nativ, who was a visiting professor at Berkeley in 2022, was invited by a university colleague to apply for another visiting role for the academic year 2024-2025, according to the lawsuit. Yet, on October 7, 2023, following the Hamas attack on Israel, the head of the department informed Nativ that there could be negative repercussions tied to the hiring of Israeli academics.
Reportedly, the department chair told Nativ, “[M]any of our graduate students are upset. If you were to teach here, it could place both the department and you in a difficult situation.”
Subsequent to this incident, the university launched its own investigation, discovering that Nativ “has fallen victim to discrimination based on national origin, violating Berkeley’s non-discrimination policies,” as stated in the lawsuit. However, despite the findings in September 2024, the university has yet to take any further actions to remedy the situation, according to the lawsuit.
“Institutions like Berkeley should proudly welcome scholars from around the globe. Yet, since the October 7th events, Jewish and Israeli academics, including Dr. Nativ, have faced unjust scrutiny, their professional roles questioned, and their livelihoods jeopardized due to rising anti-Semitism on campus,” a spokesperson noted.
Even prior to the surge of anti-Israel activism resulting from the recent Israel-Gaza conflict, Berkeley had been under investigation by the Biden administration for possible anti-Semitic actions. In 2022, the Department of Education received reports alleging that some student groups had adopted anti-Israel positions and restricted pro-Israel speakers.
“To reject a professor based on her country of origin is not just offensive—it’s illegal,” Marcus stated. “If the university admin doesn’t enforce accountability standards, how can it expect students to refrain from expressing their own discriminatory views?”
