EDITORS' CORNER
Key Takeaways
- UC Berkeley settled with Israeli sociologist Yael Nativ for $60,000 and reinstated her position, following allegations of discrimination related to her Israeli identity amid campus protests.
- Pomona College reached an agreement with Jewish advocacy groups to address antisemitism, adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism in its policies, and implementing training and new regulations regarding protest conduct.
- Both universities' settlements include commitments to uphold anti-discrimination measures, though there are concerns about potential infringements on free speech regarding the new protest rules at Pomona College.
Two California universities reached settlements with Jewish advocacy groups over antisemitism allegations this month.
The University of California Berkeley will pay $60,000 to Israeli sociologist and dance researcher Yael Nativ, according to a news release from the Louis D. Brandeis Center, which filed the lawsuit.
Berkeley will also reinstate Nativ (pictured) as a visiting dance professor.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons stated he appreciates “Nativ’s decision to settle this case,” according to the news release.
“She is owed the apology I will provide on behalf of our campus. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Nativ back to Berkeley to teach again,” he stated.
Nativ also commented on the case, saying, “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,” she said.
Nativ alleged she was denied a visiting instructor position in 2023 due to her Israeli nationality amid anti-Israel protests on campus, The College Fix previously reported.
She had successfully taught as a visiting professor at Berkeley in 2022 and was invited to apply again. However, the department cited concerns that graduate students were “angry” and hiring her would place her and the department “in a terrible position.”
In another recent agreement over antisemitism, Pomona College reached a deal with the Anti-Defamation League, Brandeis Center, and Hillel International to resolve a U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights complaint alleging a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
Pomona will also prohibit “disparate treatment or harassment based on shared ancestry” and ban conduct like stereotyping, ostracism, or using “Zionist” as a proxy for antisemitic intent. It will also revise demonstration, posting, and encampment rules, as well as ban masked protests.
Further, the school will begin mandatory annual Title VI training for students, faculty, and staff on antisemitism and appoint a dedicated Title VI Coordinator.
Pomona will also host annual lectures on antisemitism and Jewish identity, invite Hillel to orientation, establish an Advisory Council on Jewish Life and Antisemitism, and participate in Hillel’s Campus Climate Initiative surveys.
The agreement is effective for four semesters and will start in the spring of 2026.
However, free speech experts have raised concerns about this deal.
The policy reform director for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Laura Beltz, said the settlement requires Pomona to make changes and adopt policies that “may infringe on free speech, depending on how they are adopted,” Inside Higher Ed reported.
She specifically raised concerns over rules requiring advance approval even for small gatherings of just a few protesters, as well as a mandate that protests exceeding an undefined attendance threshold be confined to designated campus areas.
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