An Israeli scholar of dance and choreography is suing the University of California, alleging she was denied a guest teaching role at UC Berkeley because she is Israeli.
The lawsuit, set to be filed Wednesday in California Superior Court in Alameda County, describes pressure by graduate students in Cal’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies who objected to hosting an Israeli scholar, and what the department chair described as a politically “hot” situation within the department.
Academic boycotts of Israel long predate the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that started the ongoing war and a global surge in antisemitism. Since then, the boycott movement has gained visibility, although activists generally target Israeli institutions rather than individuals. During the wave of encampment protests on college campuses in spring 2024, pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists consistently called for boycotts of Israel exchange and study abroad programs. Such demands have mostly been rejected by university leaders — including those in the UC system.
Yael Nativ, the plaintiff, has a bachelor’s from the Sorbonne in Paris, a master’s from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. from Hebrew University, according to her resume. She researches dance through a sociological lens with a focus on Israeli dance, particularly among women and girls.
She hoped to return to Cal during the 2024-2025 academic year after teaching a course there called “Intersectional Perspectives on Contemporary Dance in Israel” in spring 2022. Her position was organized through the Helen Diller Institute for Jewish Law and Israel Studies.
Nativ “was thrilled when HDI invited her to apply for another semester,” the complaint states, referencing the Helen Diller Institute. The lawsuit, which was reviewed by J., states that SanSan Kwan, who now chairs the dance and performance department, shared the institute’s interest in Nativ’s return, and the two spent time together during a trip Kwan took to Israel organized by the institute in March 2023.
Nativ applied in August 2023, the complaint states, with the intention to teach the same course. On Nov. 17, 2023, Kwan informed her she would not be rehired, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit does not specify UC Berkeley’s stated reason for rejecting Nativ’s application. Rebecca Harris, an attorney for Nativ, told J. on Tuesday that the university cited “capacity” issues, an explanation Harris called “pretextual” and “ad hoc.”
Nativ and Kwan did not immediately respond to J.’s request for comment.
The complaint quotes from what it states was a WhatsApp message from Kwan to Nativ on Nov. 18, 2023: “My dept cannot host you for a class next fall. Things are very hot 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.”
Though Kwan cited graduate students in her message, a number of UC faculty have also supported a boycott of Israel and have condemned the UC Office of the President for opposing one. Among them was Roshanak Kheshti, head graduate adviser in the dance and performance department.
Kheshti signed a 2024 letter published by a group called UC Faculty for Justice in Palestine to oppose what it called UC’s “refusal to divest from Israeli companies and corporations that provide material support to the Israeli government.”
Nativ first publicized details about her experience in a Dec. 31, 2023, op-ed in Haaretz titled “Berkeley Gave in to Fear and Division When It Canceled My Invitation After October 7.”
After the op-ed was published, the lawsuit alleges, the chancellor’s office received a number of “complaint emails” from alumni concerned about possible discrimination against Nativ. Cal’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination then launched an investigation into the incident. On Sept. 20, 2024, Nativ received a “Notice of Outcome,” according to the complaint, accompanied by a 45-page investigative report that concluded her claim was “substantiated” and constituted a violation of university policies.
A spokesperson for Cal told J. in an email that while the university could not comment on personnel matters, “UC Berkeley is committed to confronting harassment and discrimination of all types” and that when laws or university policies are violated, “the university believes there should be appropriate consequences.”
Nativ is represented by attorneys with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a Jewish civil rights firm focused on antisemitism and anti-Zionism on college campuses. The Brandeis Center is already suing UC Berkeley in federal court for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
Nativ is seeking compensation for lost wages, damage to her professional reputation and for other harms under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act and the state Education Code.
In a WhatsApp message to Kwan cited in the complaint, Nativ said she was “sad and broken all around” about the situation. “The level of ignorance, hate, and the inability to make an effort for a complex discourse is astounding and appalling.”