UC Berkeley, Pomona College settle with Jewish groups over antisemitism allegations
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Two prominent California higher education institutions said Wednesday they have reached settlement agreements with Jewish groups or individuals who filed complaints about alleged antisemitism stemming from pro-Palestinian campus protests in 2023 and 2024.UC Berkeley said it agreed to pay an Israeli sociologist and dance researcher $60,000 for an incident in the fall of 2023 in which the instructor said she was not invited back to teach a course despite the success of the class.Yael Nativ, who was a visiting professor in 2022, sued in state court, alleging she was rejected because of her Israeli nationality.At the time, protests against Israel’s war in Gaza were growing on campus after the Oct.
7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.Last year, a formal campus investigation found that she faced discrimination.
Nativ filed the suit after she said she asked the university to follow up on the investigation results by rehiring her and taking actions to prevent similar future incidents.She alleged she did not receive an adequate response.
The university on Wednesday also issued an apology to Nativ and said she has been invited to teach the same class “in a semester of her choosing.”“I respect and appreciate Dr.Nativ’s decision to settle this case,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement.
“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.”At Pomona College, the campus entered in a nonmonetary settlement over a federal complaint filed last year with the Education Department alleging civil rights law violations during its response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations.During one tense 2024 protest, demonstrators occupied an administrative office, leading to arrests.
The college later relocated its commencement to Los Angeles because of an encampment setup on the campus stage where...