The University of California, Berkeley faces a discrimination scandal after rescinding a job offer to Israeli professor Dr. Yael Nativ solely because of her national origin, according to a new lawsuit. Nativ, a dance researcher and sociologist, taught at Berkeley in 2022 and received strong reviews, with the school urging her to return in 2024-25. That promise collapsed after Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks fueled anti-Israel hostility on campus.
In November 2023, Berkeley’s Theater Department chair, Dr. SanSan Kwan, told Nativ, “[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.” The lawsuit alleges that Nativ’s Israeli citizenship was the deciding factor in her rejection.
Berkeley’s own investigation confirmed the discrimination. The Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination ruled that “a preponderance of the evidence therefore demonstrated that Dr. Kwan discriminated against Dr. Nativ on the basis of national origin.” Despite this conclusion, the university has failed to provide any meaningful remedy.
Kenneth Marcus, chairman and CEO of the Brandeis Center, condemned Berkeley’s actions, stating: “Berkeley’s denial of a respected professor simply because of her national origin is not only distasteful, it’s illegal.”
